Age of Advancement
by MickDunD
Summary: Some things are worth living for. Others are worth dying for. The ones you love are worth doing what you never thought possible... even if you can never go back. Minor crossover with COD AW
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

"BREEEE! BREEEE! BREEE!"

I blinked and looked around as the warning klaxon continued to blare loudly.

"ALERT! ALERT! THIS IS NOT A DRILL!" the mechanical voice screeched. "I REPEAT THIS IS NOT A-"

"Remind me why I have this thing," I mumbled, switching off my 'doomsday' alarm clock and sitting up.

I walked to the bathroom, rubbing my eyes as I slowly woke all the way up. I quickly showered and brushed my teeth, knowing that I had a big day ahead of me. I quickly shrugged on a white collared shirt and slacks, making sure to put on the glove on my left hand. I was still getting used to the feeling. After giving myself a once over in the mirror, I picked up my backpack and walked out into the hallway and down the stairs to the first floor.

"Good morning sir," my bodyguard said as I walked past him.

"Morning Gideon," I said, rubbing my eye. "You know, you don't have to check on me right when I wake up."

"Apologies, sir," he said briskly as we entered the kitchen. "But your father insists on it."

"Riiiight," I said, opening the fridge. "And I'm not even going to ask how you got in here without tripping the alarm."

I winced and grabbed my left arm as a spasm suddenly ran through it. I could hear the whirring of the internal mechanisms as the servos tried to correct themselves. It was excruciating, but it was necessary.

"Sir?" Gideon asked.

"It's fine," I breathed, waiting as the pain slowly died down. I lifted my left hand and slowly flexed my fingers. There was a hint of resistance in my ring finger, but other than that things seemed to be fine. "I'll run a diagnostic when I get home."

"Would you like me to call the lab and have them ready the equipment?" he asked.

"Please," I sighed, grabbing a bottle of water and shoving it in my bag. "Is the car ready?"

"Yes sir," he said with his usual military confidence. "Ilona is waiting for you outside."

"Thanks," I said. "Have a good day."

"You too sir," he said as I walked for the door.

The second I stepped outside, I was blasted with a wave of noise. Roaring of engines and the thumping of helicopter rotors assaulted my ears as I walked for the black SUV parked in front of my apartment.

"Morning sir," Ilona said with her soft voice.

"Morning Ilona," I yawned as I shut the door and the car started rolling down the road.

Living on a military base might seem a little strange, but I'd gotten used to it at a young age. And by young age, I mean I've been living on them ever since I was six years old, so I can't imagine life without.

"Any word from my dad?" I asked. "Other than orders?"

"None so far," she admitted as we drove past a tank rolling down the main avenue. "He's wrapped up in negotiations with Iraq at the moment."

I sighed and stared out the window at a group of soldiers jogging in two-by-two formation, my eyes lingering over the insignia on their uniforms.

Atlas. The largest private military contractor and independent weapons manufacturer in the world. A multinational corporation with a standing military bigger than most superpower nations. Ever since their founding, they had revolutionized the face of warfare and changed the balance of power in many third-world nations, and changed it for the better. Areas like Columbia, Honduras, The Congo, Egypt, and...Somalia.

I repressed a shudder at the that thought, reflexively squeezing my left hand into a fist. I swallowed and watched as the security gate appeared in front of us. A team of fully-armed soldiers were stationed there at all times, not to mention the two heavy machine gun turrets placed behind the blockade.

"Ilona," the guard said as he walked up. "Where you headed off to?"

I looked around her at the guard and gave a nod. He nodded right back and stepped away. "Clear!" he shouted as the bollards lowered. "Have a good day, Mr. Irons."

"You too," I said as Ilona pulled out of the base and into the hustle and bustle of downtown Teito.

"How is your arm doing?" she asked me.

"Fine," I said, looking down at my gloved hand. "Why do you ask?"

"Gideon radioed me before you came out," she said. "He told me about the kitchen."

"Damn, that man can talk fast," I muttered as she cracked a smile.

The rest of the drive into the city was silent. I wasn't really a morning person and Ilona didn't really talk a lot period, so the silence felt almost natural. My mind drifted to the events of the day ahead of me. College...two years ahead of schedule. My dad had managed to pull some strings and get me in early to Teito University, the most prestigious school in all of Japan. Atlas donated a generous sum of money to the school's new engineering lab, so they were inclined to let the seventeen year-old son of the CEO in early with no questions asked.

"We're here," Ilona announced as the car slowed to a stop in front of a large auditorium building with signs marked 'freshman orientation.' I had been so wrapped up in my own thoughts I hadn't even noticed us pull onto the campus. "If you have a problem, call either me or Gideon. We'll be on site within five minutes."

"Thank you," I said, opening the door with a twinge running through my left arm. "See you at three."

She nodded and drove off as I walked in. There were people milling around the entrance, kids around my age and a few adults who were trying to corral them into the building. I just sighed and walked right in, taking a seat near the exit. Slowly, people began to trickle into the auditorium, taking seats with friends and talking excitedly in Japanese. I ignored them for the most part, despite the fact that I knew the language (dad had made me learn it when I was ten). Eventually, the headmaster came onstage and launched into some bullshit about academic excellence and the importance of doing well in school. I'd heard the same story at every private school I'd attended...none of it really mattered. Who knew? In two weeks I could be out of here and be sitting in a school in Beijing, or Moscow, or London...or I could be back in…

_Don't go there,_ I told myself as we were told to report to our first class. For me it was advanced physics.

I hurried through the hallways to find my room. Two wrong turns and three flights of stairs later, I was in my seat just as the bell rang for the start of first period. I looked around the classroom, taking a good look at my new classmates. All of them looks exactly like each other: goofy smiles and perverted grins towards the girls. I sighed and looked towards the blackboard as the teacher came in.

"Good morning," she said with a happy grin. "Welcome to Teito University! My name is Hitomi-sensei, and I will be your teacher this semester! I would like all of you to get to know each other now, so why don't we go around the room and say your name and what you would like to major in?"

I rolled my eyes at her attempt at an icebreaker as the class began saying their names and majors. Finally, it was my turn, so I just groaned and looked back over my shoulder at the kids behind me.

"I'm Will," I said. "Will Irons. I'd like to be an engineer, future permitting."

I noticed a flash of recognition cross the teacher's face. I just pushed it aside and focused on my textbook. Most adults knew the name Irons by now. It was like Jobs, Gates, Trump, Minaka. Everyone knew who those people were. My old man, Jonathan Irons, was now one of those people...and I guess I was by extension.

The rest of class was basically a short course description as well as a review of the three laws of motion. Basically just a gigantic waste of my time and patience. By the time the bell rang, I was willing to call Gideon and have him bust in here with an Atlas Rescue Team to get me the hell out of there. Next class was English, and I mean a language course, not the class where you sit around and discuss a book. I already spoke English fluently, it was just a required class. I just pulled out my notebook and started designing a airborne quad-drone while the teacher was trying to get the class to say 'perfect' instead of 'perpeck.'

Then something caught my eye. I turned my head and looked out the window at the buildings off campus. There...there was something on the rooftops. Actually, there were multiple somethings moving across the rooftops, multiple somethings that were giving off flashes of light. I blinked and squinted as hard as I could at those somethings.

_Are they drones? _I thought. _Can't be Japanese. Their police doesn't use drones and their military doesn't have ones small enough to operate around civilians. Are they Atlas? Nah, they wouldn't let them off the base. _

I kept staring at them, debating if I should call Gideon and let him know. I probably shouldn't bother him with stuff like this. If it wasn't police, then someone would have probably reported it by now. It didn't concern me.

The rest of class passed by pretty quickly. The other kids were finally able to pronounce the word and my drone design was coming along well. I would probably finish it later tonight and then email the design back to the Atlas main headquarters in Arlington. Hopefully, we would see these in production by the next year.

I'd been designing and building drones since I was eleven. It was something I both loved and was very good at. Dad had actually financed the production of a few of my small aerial surveillance drones. Atlas was now using them in the middle east to hunt terrorists. I had six design patents in my name, which did give me a nice amount of pocket money at the end of the day. Not that I needed it, mind you.

Class ended and I headed off to my next lecture. Periods flew by until it was finally two thirty. I didn't have anymore classes scheduled, so I was kind of at a loss at what to do. I was kind of fed up with this campus, and I didn't want to return to the base yet. Eventually, I just decided to go see what the city had to offer on my own. I pulled out my phone and dialed Gideon.

"Sir," he answered on the first ring.

"I'm going to walk back to the base," I said. "I'll be back at around four. If I'm not, alert my dad."

"Are you sure you don't want us to send a car?"

"I'll be fine," I assured him. "I still want to do the diagnostic on my arm when I get back. Is the lab set?"

"Yes, sir," he said.

"Thanks Gideon," I said. "See you when I get back."

I hung up and made my way off campus. As soon as I was out of the gates, I was blasted by a wave of noise and light. Cars honking, signs flashing, giant building-mounted TVs blaring the local news. It kind of reminded me of a not-as-cool version of Times Square. I walked through the crowds, looking around at all the shops and the people moving around. I noticed that one thing kept popping out at me at all times: MBI. I remembered that dad had once said the biggest threat to Atlas was MBI. Apparently they had come out a few years after Atlas was formed and had taken over the pharmaceutical industry by storm, pumping out cures and medicines that were twenty years ahead of modern technology. Three years ago, there had been an offer to buy Atlas, and offer made personally by Hiroto Minaka, the CEO. Dad had refused of course, despite the multi-billion dollar offer Minaka offered. According to media reports, the CEO had thrown what can best be described as a temper tantrum at Dad's response.

I was walking by an alleyway when I heard something I didn't like.

"Hey sexy," I heard. "I hear you're looking for an Ashikabi."

I stopped right where I stood and looked into the alley. There were four guys standing towards the back, all of them looking like two-bit punks who had more crack in their heads than brain tissue. They were all standing around a girl in a pink and white shrine maiden outfit. She was really cute too.

"You know, I'm an Ashikabi," one of them said, stalking closer to the girl.

"Me too," said another one.

"Wh-what are you doing?" the girl asked as the other two suddenly flanked her and pinned her arms. "Kya!"

"Isn't this the kind of thing that an Ashikabi does?" the leader spoke up, grabbing the front of her clothes and ripping them away, leaving her naked from the waist down.

Now I didn't have a single clue what an Ashikabi was, but I did have a clue about what would come next. Every nerve in my body was screaming in me to run in there and protect that girl. It's what any good person would do, so that's what I did.

"Hey!" I yelled, trying to look as intimidating as possible. "Get your hands off her!"

"Huh?" they all turned and looked at me.

"Yeah, you fuckheads," I said, dropping my bookbag and storming towards them. "Drop the girl and scram before I beat your sorry asses!"

"What do you think you're gonna do, gajin?" the leader snarled. "We found this bitch first. Go find your own!"

That did it for me. All the anger and frustration that had been building up inside me ever since Somalia just exploded. I bullrushed the leader and drove my right hand into his gut as hard as I could before slamming my left elbow into his nose. He gasped and dropped like a sack of bricks, his now-broken nose gushing red. I turned to the other three of them.

"Well?" I snapped. "Am I gonna have to kick your asses too?"

They dropped the girl and rushed at me. Right away, my self-defense training kicked in. I blocked a punch from one of them and twisted his wrist until I heard it snap, using the momentum to help sweep his legs.

One.

Thug number two came at me with a wild strike towards my jaw. I jumped backwards and swatted the blow aside, driving the point of my elbow into his ribcage. I felt his diaphragm spasm and let him fall over.

Two.

Number three was charging me with a piece of pipe, slashing it back and forth like a sword. I ducked backwards, bobbing and weaving around his attacks until I saw an opening. I knew I was going to regret this, but I caught his wrist with my left hand and held fast. My arm screeched in protest, but I wasn't done. I grabbed the back of his head with my right hand and gave him a knee strike to the groin. He made a very girly shriek of pain and dropped, holding his balls like they were going to fall off.

Three.

My arm was still in agony, but I held it back. I still had one thing left to do. I walked over to the girl, who was looking at me with wide eyes. I knelt down next to her, trying not to look at her impressive chest, and helped cover herself back up.

"Are you okay, Miss?" I asked.

"I-I'm fine," she stammered as I helped her to her feet. "Thank you for helping me."

"Not a problem," I said. "Do you need me to call someone?"

"N-n-no," she stammered, her face flushed bright red for some reason. "I can manage."

She stood straight up and gave me a deep bow. "Thank you again," she said. "I'm Kaho."

I smiled and bowed back. "Will," I said. "Nice to meet you."

She smiled back at me before picking up a long wrapped object from the ground and slinging it over her shoulder.

"Are you sure you don't need anything?" I asked one more time.

"No, thank you," she said sweetly.

A loud rumbling sound rolled through the alleyway. It sounded like a cross between a bear and a tank engine. I looked back at a blushing Kaho, who was cradling her stomach with one hand with an embarrassed expression.

"Hungry?" I joked.

She gave a sheepish grin and stood straight up.

"Want lunch?" I asked. "My treat?"

"Oh, that's alright," she said. "I don't want to trouble you."

"Nah, it's no trouble at all," I said. "My father always told me to help people when they needed it. Besides, I haven't eaten yet, anyway. Getting a bite now just kills two birds with one stone."

She looked away for a second, a light pink dusting her cheeks. "A-a-alright," she said, following me out of the alley and back onto the street.

I found a decent burger joint a few blocks away. We placed our order, got our food, and sat down within the span of five minutes. I was kind of shocked at the mountain of food that Kaho had in front of her. There were at least twenty supersized burgers, six jumbo sides of fries, and two larges cokes all on her one tray. All I had was two cheeseburgers, a medium order of fries, and a small root beer.

_Where does she put it all?_ I wondered as I watched her eat like a starving man given a ticket to an all-you-can-eat buffet.

She stopped eating/inhaling her food for a moment and looked at me. "Is everything alright?" she asked. "You haven't touched your food."

"Huh? Oh yeah, sorry," I said, realizing that I had been staring at her. I quickly unwrapped one of my burgers and bit into it.

"Will-san?" she asked, pointing at my left hand. "Why don't you take off your glove to eat?"

I looked down at my hand hesitantly. I couldn't tell her the reason why I wore the glove, dad had made they _explicitly _clear when he gave it to me.

"It's kind of personal, Kaho-san," I said with a smile "It's not really something I talk about a lot."

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said with an ashamed expression that made me feel like I had kicked a puppy. "I didn't know…"

"Nonono, it's fine!" I said, holding my hands up placatingly. "There's no way you could have known about it. Don't feel bad!"

She relaxed at my words and resumed eating. I sighed in relief and picked at my own food a little, trying not to stare at her. It was _very_ hard not to do that. Kaho was probably the cutest girl I had ever seen, much less had the pleasure of meeting. She had sweet brown eyes, a cute face, and I thought it was adorable the way she tied her long brown hair back with a bow. Her clothes were a little old-fashioned, but she wore them well. Secretly, I also kind of liked how they seemed to be a few sizes too small around her chest.

"Hey, Kaho-san," I said, unable to take the silence any longer. "Those guys who were harassing you back there...they said you were looking for an Ashikabi. What did they mean by that?"

She wiped her lips with a napkin before closing her eyes with a happy smile. "An Ashikabi is a very precious person," she said with such longing and conviction. "Every little bird's dream is to find her Ashikabi and stay by his side forever…"

Then her eyes turned steely and cold, like she was remembering something foul. "I also made a promise a long time ago," she said. "And in order to fulfill that promise, I need to find my Ashikabi."

_Little Birds? _I thought to myself. '_Not sure what that means or why she's calling herself a bird...must be some kind of cultural thing. _

"Well, I hope you find your Ashikabi soon," I said, deciding to paraphrase a quote. "I mean, he's got to be out there somewhere. And chances are he's looking for you too."

Kaho gave a bright smile and laid both her hands over my left hand. I shuddered at the contact, worried that my arm would spasm like all the other times I had tried to touch things with it. But to my surprise, nothing happened. No pain, no whirring of machines, no screaming. All I could feel was the warmth of Kaho's hands.

"I wish my Ashikabi could be someone like you, Will-san," she said, gently lifting my hand to her face. Even though my glove was in the way, I knew her skin was as soft as silk. I gingerly moved my hand, splaying my fingers out to cup her cheek. Part of me was screaming to move my hand away before I hurt myself...but another part was demanding that I continue touching her, like being in her presence would be enough to keep the pain away. I swallowed on a dry mouth, moving my hand back from her face and towards the back of her head, gently running my fingers through her hair.

"Ah," she gave a cute little gasp, her eyes half-lidded and face flushed red.

"Sorry," I said, jerking my hand away.

"No," she said, leaning across the table until she was literally a centimeter away from my face. Her breath was ragged and her face was bright red. "No...keep doing that…"

"Kaho-san," I whispered as her lips brushed against mine.

"There they are!"

I jerked my head towards the restaurant door, where a large group of men dressed like thugs and gangsters were flooding in. At the front were the four guys who had assaulted Kaho.

"Shit," I muttered, grabbing my phone and hitting the panic button. That button was a special feature that dad had added after the Somalia incident. When pressed, it would send a distress signal to the Atlas Compound. Within five minutes, there would be an Atlas rescue team breaking down the doors. The hard part was _surviving _the five minutes it took them to get here.

"That's the bastard right there!" yelled one of them, pointing at me and Kaho. "Get him!"

"Double shit!" I yelled, grabbing Kaho's wrist and pulling her towards the kitchen. "Come on!"

I shoulder-rushed the doors open and sprinted back through the kitchen and out to the back lot, dragging Kaho behind me. I could hear the shouts of the gang as they tried to force their way through the kitchen and follow us. We had about three minutes until Atlas personnel arrived, so that meant three minutes of running. This could not get any worse.

"Will-san, wait!" Kaho was panting hard, her face flushed and feverish. She looked like she was about to pass out.

"Triple shit," I muttered, pulling her into an alley and behind a dumpster, hopefully out of sight. I pulled her close against my chest and tucked my head down, trying to keep both of us hidden behind the dumpster. I heard heavy footfalls from outside the alleyway, followed by a lot of shouting.

"Will-san," Kaho was panting hard.

"Shh!" I said, keeping my hand on her. "Or they'll hear us!"

"Will-san…"

It took me a few seconds to realize that something was really wrong. It sounded like she was moaning my name. I looked down and realized that by pulling her against my chest that I had accidentally put my hand on her breast and squeezed really hard.

"Fuck, Kaho-san, I'm sorry!" I hissed, letting go of her and recoiling away.

She turned around and looked at me with glassy eyes. Her breathing was coming out hard and ragged, like she was sick and had a fever. She slowly crawled towards me, pinning me against the wall of the alley.

"K-Kaho-san?" I asked, confused and a little creeped out.

"I found you," she whispered, her hands encircling my head as she slipped into my lap and straddled me. "My Ashikabi…"

Her lips pressed against mine with a spark that traveled through my entire body, the same warmth from before filling me. Suddenly, a bright light burst from Kaho's back, transforming into a set of bright pink wings made of pure light. My eyes widened in shock as I watched each feather grow and flex as she deepened the kiss. Her tongue parted my lips and began battling with my own. I could feel her breasts pressing against me through my shirt. Judging from the exact feeling, I could tell she didn't believe in wearing bras.

"Well, well, well," came a slimy voice from the entrance of the alleyway. "Look what we have here."

At those words, Kaho suddenly stood up, looking like whatever the hell had just occurred didn't happen at all and faced the gang.

"Leave now!" she yelled, unslinging the wrapped package over her shoulder and holding it like it was a weapon. "I won't let you hurt Will-sama!"

The punks just laughed and started pulling out knives. "What are you gonna do, princess?" the leader asked. "Just fuck off or we'll show you we mean business!"

My breath caught in my throat at those words. Another voice began echoing in my head, a heavy African accent, accompanied by the menacing glint of a rusty machete.

"_Now your father will know that we mean business…."_

I clutched my left hand and slumped against the wall of the alleyway. Bile rose in my throat as memories began flooding my head. Images of a dark room, a bloodstained butcher's block, the chair they strapped me into, the coppery smell of blood mixed with the rank odor of cigarette smoke. I couldn't take it any longer and threw up, my lungs heaving hard as I began to hyperventilate.

"Will-sama!" Kaho yelled, running to me and holding me. "What's wrong? Will-sama are you okay?"

"Get him!" yelled one of the gangsters as they ran forwards. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a small metal cylinder fall to the ground.

**POW!**

Suddenly the entire alleyway was flooded with bright light. I heard boots hitting concrete as well as muffled yelling. Somebody grabbed me and dragged me upright as my vision began to clear. I blinked a few times and looked around to see a group of fifteen men all dressed in full combat gear, holding assault rifles at the gangsters.

"On the fucking ground!" one of them yelled, clubbing the leader in the head. "Now, god-dammit!"

"Are you okay, sir?" asked a familiar voice.

"Gideon?" I coughed, spitting some bile out of my mouth. "Is that you?"

"Yes sir," he said, carrying me out of the alleyway. "I've got you...you're going to be alright."

"Where's Kaho?" I croaked.

"Who?" he asked.

"The girl," I said.

"Will-sama!" she yelled as if on cue, rushing towards me. Right away, two Atlas soldiers jumped in and grabbed her, dragging her away and back into the alleyway.

"Let her go!" I yelled, coughing a little. "That's an order! Let her go right now!"

"You heard him!" Gideon barked and the soldiers let go right away.

"Where are you taking Will-sama?" she asked, grabbing onto my left hand and pressing it against her chest.

"Watch the hand!" Gideon yelled, reaching to pull my arm away from her.

"It's fine, Gideon," I said, pulling my arm away and standing up straight. "It's not hurting anymore."

"Sir?" he asked, clearly confused.

I shook my head a few times to clear my mind before straightening up. "Let's go back to the base," I said. "I need to do that diagnostic now. Kaho will be coming with us, Gideon and that's an order."

"Yes, sir," he said before jerking his head back at the alleyway. "What about them?"

"Follow dad's orders," I said, walking towards the black SUV that had just rolled up. "Make sure they learn their lesson."

"Sir," he nodded before turning around and heading back towards the gangsters, pulling a nightstick from his belt.

"Kaho," I said, pulling the stunned girl towards the car. "Coming?"

"Y-yes, Will-sama," she said, hugging my arm to her chest as if she was afraid I would leave.

I nodded as we got in the car and began the drive back to the Atlas Compound.


	2. Chapter 2

**HEY EVERYONE! SORRY ABOUT THE LACK OF AUTHOR'S RANT IN CHAPTER ONE, BUT I WAS REALLY TIRED AND TOO LAZY TO WRITE ONE. **

**I'VE DECIDED TO TRY A NEW SYSTEM OF WRITING. FROM NOW ON I WILL BE BALANCING MY PROJECTS BY WRITING IN THEM WHENEVER I GET INSPIRATION TO WRITE. THAT HAPPENS A LOT, SO DON'T WORRY ABOUT LONG WAITS. ALSO, I WILL NOT BE STARTING ANY NEW IDEAS UNTIL I HAVE ONE OF THESE STORIES FINISHED. IF ANYONE HAS A PROBLEM WITH THIS, YOU CAN CALL MY DISGRUNTLED SECRETARY AND PRAY THAT SHE GIVES ME YOUR MESSAGE. **

**SO WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, WELCOME TO THE SECOND CHAPTER OF AGE OF ADVANCEMENT! **

The drive back to the base was probably the most painfully awkward five minutes of my life. Kaho and I saw next to each other in silence, her hand still tightly gripped around my left arm, but she wasn't looking at me. I was a little worried about how hard she was holding my arm, but no matter how long I waited, it never seemed to hurt.

My mind was still reeling from what had just happened. My first day of college and I had already gotten into a fight, picked up a girl, and gotten a kiss from said girl, who had also momentarily sprouted wings when I had kissed her. There was something much bigger going on right now, and I was determined to find out what it was.

The car pulled to a stop outside the robotics lab and a pair of guards ran and opened the car door.

"The lab is prepped as you requested, sir," one of them said.

"Thank you," I said. "Tell Gideon and Ilona to come find me when they return. And find Mitchell and Joker...have them come as well."

"Yes sir," he saluted and walked off, speaking into his radio.

"Come on, Kaho-san," I said walking into the robotics lab.

"H-hai," she said, looking around in awe as we walked through the hallways.

"It's impressive, isn't it?" I chuckled as she looked through a window at a drone flying around inside a test room.

"What is this place?" she asked, her voice shaking with amazement.

"The Tokyo Atlas Compound," I said as we approached the private lab that dad had set up for me.

"But...why are we here?" she asked as I pressed my right palm against the door's electronic lock.

"Because this is where I live," I said as the doors opened with a pneumatic hiss. "My full name is Will Irons...my dad is the CEO of Atlas International, Jonathan Irons."

"Oh," she said. "The Professor used to talk about someone named Irons...I didn't know he was talking about your father."

"Professor?" I asked as we walked inside the lab. "What professor?"

"The Professor in charge of the Sekirei Plan," she said. "His name is Hiroto Minaka."

"MBI…" I sighed and shook my head as I walked over the the equipment to service my arm. "So what, are you a super-solider of some kind? Some kind of genetic experiment?"

"No," she said. "I'm a Sekirei...Sekirei Number 87, Kaho."

"Sekirei?" I looked over my shoulder at her.

She nodded with a bright smile. "It's what I am," she said.

I was about to retort when I felt my cell phone ring. I pulled it out and saw it was a video-chat request from a blocked number. I declined the call and tossed my phone on the table.

"Alright," I said, turning on some of the machines I would need. "So you're a Sekirei...what exactly is a Sekirei?"

"I'm afraid that's classified, Mr. Irons," said a new voice.

I turned around and looked at my phone, which had mysteriously turned on and was now showing a video-chat. On the screen was a white-haired man with glasses. I knew his face all too well from the news reports.

"Hiroto Minaka," I said. "How did you get this number?"

He laughed and leaned forwards on the screen. "That is for me to know, and you to never find out!" he said. "But moving on, I am calling to welcome you to the Sekirei plan! A glorious game of the gods that you are now a part of! You and number 87 there."

"Professor," Kaho said with a respectful bow.

"Hello to you too, my dear Kaho," he said. "Is your Ashikabi treating you well?"

"Yes," she said without hesitation. "Will-sama is a good Ashikabi."

"Hold the phone," I said. "Could somebody bring me up to speed here?"

"Ah, yes, of course," Minaka said, adjusting his glasses. "The Sekirei Plan, the glorious-"

"Cut the crap," I said. "You know what? I don't care anymore. If you call this number again, you'll be getting a call from my dad's lawyers."

"Oh, I doubt you'll do that," Minaka gave an evil grin. "Especially since I haven't finished speaking. Such a rude young man…"

My eyes narrowed as he leaned forwards. "The rules of the game are simple. All Sekirei and their Ashikabi must participate in the Plan," he said. "The one-hundred-and-eight little birds must fight until there is one remaining. Only then will the game end and the winner will usher in a new age of the gods!"

"You're insane," I said.

"Thank you!" he smiled. "Now I really must be going. Tell your father I say hi...and to the four Atlas agents watching this, do know that if the Sekirei Plan is exposed, I will have no choice but to tie up some…'loose ends.' I don't think Jonathan would like it very much if something happened to his son's other arm. Toodles!"

With that, the screen went black. I stared down at it blankly as the door opened behind me.

"Sir?" Gideon asked as I clenched my hand into a fist and hurled my phone against the wall. "Are you alright?"

"No, I'm not fucking alright!" I yelled, grabbing my hair. "The son of a bitch hacked my phone and just threatened me!"

I kicked the workbench and collapsed in the chair closest to me. "You all saw everything, right?" I asked.

"Yeah, boss," Joker said, crossing his arms. "It doesn't make sense, but I think he was serious with that threat."

"No shit," Ilona said.

"He won't touch you," Kaho said with burning conviction, placing her hand over her chest. "I swear on my crest that the Professor won't hurt Will-sama!"

"How are you going to back that up?" Mitchell asked, crossing his arms.

Kaho grabbed the wrapping around the thing she had brought with her and pulled it away, revealing a nagatina. "With my blade," she said. "I will protect Will-sama with my life!"

Gideon chuckled. "You're just a kid," he said.

Kaho's eyes narrowed. Then she moved...moved faster than my eye could track, literally vanishing and reappearing right in front of Gideon with the tip of her blade resting on his forehead. He hadn't even had time to flinch.

"Damn…" Joker said. "That was badass."

"How'd you do that?" Ilona asked, her hand resting at her sidearm.

"I am a Sekirei," Kaho repeated, lowering her blade before looking at Gideon. "If I wanted to kill you, you would already be dead."

He grimly nodded and took a step backwards as she turned around and walked to my side. I just stood there in shock. There was no way a human could move that fast or be that precise. You didn't get that from genetic experiments either.

"Will-sama, when I kissed you, you became my Ashikabi," she said, grabbing my hands and staring up at me. "To a Sekirei, nothing is more important than her Ashikabi's love. I promise to stay by your side forever…"

"Hang on," I said, pulling my hands away and grabbing her shoulders. "Love? Kaho, I just met you! I don't know anything about you! And forever is a long time...how can be so sure that I'm your Ashikabi?"

She gave me a warm smile and grabbed my face. "Like this," she said, pulling me in for a kiss. I felt the warmth spread through me again, and watched as the feathers of light burst from Kaho's back.

"Holy!" Mitchell and Joker said at the same time.

Kaho pulled away from the kiss and stared at me with what can only be described as love. "You helped me emerge," she said. "This reaction is proof that Will-sama is my Ashikabi."

"Uh...okay," I said, feeling my face flush red. "So...is there anything else I should know?"

She shook her head and hugged me. "You don't have to worry about anything else," she said, pulling me close against her chest. "I'll win the plan...and we'll be able to stay together forever."

I was honestly speechless. All this was happening way too fast for me. One-hundred-and-eight super-powered beings were walking among us looking for people to bond to. Now I had one of them bonded to me. There were only two explanations I could come up with: either I was dreaming or somebody had dosed my food with LSD. I quickly bit my lip, hoping the pain would wake me up.

"Nope," I said, spitting out a wad of blood into the trash can. "Not dreaming...and there are no unicorns in here, so no drugs either."

I turned back to Kaho and looked her right in the eye. "This is really happening, isn't it?"

She nodded.

"Well, fuck," I said, turning to Gideon. "Am I really in danger?"

"We'll double your security detail," he said. "I'll have fast action response teams positioned on you at all times, make-"

"Gideon," I said, looking him right in the eye. "Can Minaka get to me?"

He sighed and shook his head. "MBI doesn't have the same hardware as Atlas, but they do have a Private Security force inside the city," he said. "While the size is formidable and a majority of it is stationed here because of the main office, we still outnumber and out gun them. Unless he wants open warfare in the streets, and even then chances are they would be unsuccessful. His best bet would be an assassin...and we're not equipped to handle that off the base."

"The Professor would send Number 04 if he wanted to kill you," Kaho spoke up.

"What does that mean?" Ilona asked.

"Sekirei Number 04, Karasuba," Kaho said in a steely voice. "She's leader of the Discipline Squad and the Professor's personal assassin. She's probably the most powerful Sekirei playing in the game. She could kill every single person on this base if she wanted to."

"That's it!" Gideon said, pulling out his phone. "We're moving you, sir. It's too dangerous for you to stay here."

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"Back to Arlington," he said. "We can protect you better at the main facility."

"What about the Plan?" Kaho asked.

"Fuck the plan," Mitchell said. "Our priority is to keep Will safe. If everything you told us is true, then we need to leave."

"Hold it!" I said. "Leaving isn't an option."

I looked at Kaho. "Minaka probably isn't going to let me leave. He said all Sekirei and their Ashikabi have to play...so getting out of the country isn't going to be easy."

"Then what can we do?" Joker asked. "We're outnumbered here, plus there's this super-assassin that Minaka might send after you...face it, sir...we're fucked."

"Maybe not," I smiled. "Kaho, how strong is this Karasuba person?"

"She's a monster," the nagatina-user said without hesitation. "She loves killing, especially killing Sekirei."

"Can she get any stronger?"

"Only if she uses her Norito," she said. "Without that, she's most likely peaked."

"And can you get stronger?" I asked. "With proper training and equipment, I mean."

She nodded. "A Sekirei's power grows as long as her Ashikabi loves her," she said. "We can also get stronger if we train hard...at least that's what my adjuster said."

_I'll ask about that later,_ I noted. "So there's the solution. We train you until you can fight her. Atlas has the largest and most effective military force in the world, and we didn't get there by being weak."

I looked at my bodyguards. "Can you train her?"

"Hypothetically, sure," Ilona said. "But it will take time."

"Do it," I said, sitting back down and preparing the diagnostic equipment. "If we can't run from MBI, then we fight."

I rolled up my sleeve and removed my glove exposing my arm. It was a robotic prosthetic that started from a metal plate that was surgically implanted into my body about two inches below my elbow, the metal and skin-tone synthetic polymers glinting in the light from the ceiling. My fingers buzzed and clicked softly as I flexed them and curled them into a fist. I looked over my shoulder at Kaho and saw she was staring at with a mix of shock and curiosity. I sighed and set it down on the table, hooking it up to the computer and started the diagnostic. My arm twitched as pulses of electricity coursed through it, stimulating the different parts into moving. I winced again and again as slivers of pain shot up from my elbow. The metal grip plates on my palm began shifting around popping up and adjusting themselves as I tried to grab onto the table. Finally, the computer chimed, saying that it had encountered an error in the servos in my knuckles and fixed the problem.

"Done," I said, pulling the glove back on and rolling my sleeve down. "Hopefully, this will hold for a day or so."

"Will-sama…" Kaho whispered, staring at my hand. "What happened to you?"

I sighed and looked down at the black leather covering my palm. "I'd rather not talk about it," I said. "It's...not something I want to want to remember right now."

She looked at me with an expression that told me she was not going to let this go. I shook my head and looked at the four of them.

"I'm heading back to my apartment now," I said. "Joker, monitor the city's radio traffic. If you hear anything suspicious, let me know...and somebody get me a new phone. One that Minaka can't hack."

"What about your father?" Gideon asked.

"Lets not tell him yet," I sighed. "There's already enough bad blood between him and Minaka...last thing we need is him declaring war on MBI. Besides, if I tell him, Minaka might use it as an excuse to come after me. Do not tell my dad, understand?"

"Yes, sir!" they chorused and left.

"Will-sama?" Kaho said.

"Yeah?"

"What about me?" she asked, standing with her hands crossed in front of her. "What should I do?"

I sighed. "I'm really not sure about that myself," I admitted, looking at the ceiling. "I have no idea what's going on right now...all of this happened so fast."

I blinked as I suddenly felt a pair of arms encircle me from behind and embrace me. I stiffened for a second before I sighed and relaxed in Kaho's arms. Growing up, I hadn't had very many hugs. My mom had died when I was six and my dad was never the hugging type. But I had to admit that it felt good.

"Thanks, Kaho," I said, patting her arm.

"You're welcome," she said, snuggling into my back. "Will-sama, you're so warm."

I blushed a little at the (I think) complement as she rubbed herself against me. "T-thanks," I said, tapping her arm. "Uh, can you let go of me now?"

She let go, with what I think was a little sigh of disappointment, and picked up her nagatina. I led her back out of the lab and out onto the base's main avenue. A few trucks were milling around, as well as a tank that was doing a patrol. I spotted a spare jeep parked and walked over to it.

"Hey," I called to the nearest guard. "Is anyone using this thing?"

"No, sir," he said. "Mitchell and Joker left that for you."

I nodded and jumped in the driver's seat as Kaho climbed in the passenger's seat. I started the engine and pulled out onto the road. Five minutes later, I was parking in front of my apartment.

Dad had this place built for me when he had decided I would go to Teito U. It was a simple two-story apartment, with plenty of rooms, a kitchen, and basement. Nothing really special aside from the fact it stood out like a sore thumb on a military base. It had a state of the art security system that would have the entire base on high alert if the alarm was tripped. Aside from myself, only my father and my security detail had the codes to enter. I made a mental note to give them to Kaho as well later.

I opened the door and walked inside, throwing my jacket on the closest chair and walking for the stairs. "I'm gonna take a shower," I said. "Make yourself at home."

"Would you like me to wash your back?" Kaho asked, her eyes sparking.

"Uh, thanks, but I think I can do that myself," I said, stopping to look at her. "Why don't you take a look around? Get acquainted with the layout of the place?"

Suddenly the phone rang. I cocked my eyebrow and picked it up. "Hello?"

"Boss," it was Joker. "Turn on the camera feed from the main gate."

"Why, what's going on?" I asked.

"Trust me," he said. "You're gonna want to see this."

I shrugged and walked to the security system monitor. I activated the camera feed from the main gate and synced it to the TV screen. I blinked and stared at the image on the screen. There was a white box truck with "MBI" printed on the side...and it was surrounded by Atlas soldiers with guns raised and trained on the driver. There wasn't any sound, but I could guess that they were telling him to put his hands up. I laughed as two agents stormed up and ripped the door open and threw the driver onto the pavement.

"You watching?" Joker asked.

"Yeah," I giggled, wiping my eyes. "But tell me what's going on, alright?"

"This guy tried to pass the gate," he told me. "'Said he had permission from Minaka to bypass the checkpoint and drive to your apartment."

"What's he carrying?" I asked, watching a group of soldiers open the back of the truck.

After a minute a soldier reemerged with a cardboard box in his hands. He opened the box and shouted something to someone off camera.

"Women's clothes," Joker said. "Looks like the same kind your new girl wears. Wait, there's a note…"

I heard the rustling of paper before he spoke again. "It says 'In case you rip her current set: Minaka.'"

I felt my face turn red. I would never do that to Kaho! Nevermind the fact that I had just met her, but I was not some lecherous pervert who couldn't control himself!

(Across the city in Maison Izumo, Seo sneezed, spraying the rice he was mooching all over Miya and the Lightning Twins. Much screaming followed.)

I blinked and shut the TV off.

"I'll send the clothes over once we sweep them," Joker said.

"Thanks," I said. "Keep me informed."

I hung up and walked upstairs to the bathroom. I took a quick shower and changed into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt before poking my head out into the stairwell. I couldn't hear any sounds throughout the entire house. I flinched and dropped back behind the closest doorway, grabbing a lamp and holding it like a club.

"Kaho?" I called.

"Yes?" she said, poking her head around the corner. "Is there something wrong, Will-sama?"

"No, no," I said, dropping my 'weapon'. "I just wanted to know where you were."

The day passed pretty quickly. I finished my drone design and sent it off to Arlington. The reply came in a matter of seconds. According to the head of production, the design looked very promising. I sighed and stretched in my desk chair, rolling my neck and flexing my fingers.

"Will-sama?" Kaho asked, knocking twice on the door. "Are you busy?"

"No, come on in," I said, rubbing my tired eyes.

Kaho walked in, carrying a tray in her hands. "I thought you might be hungry," she said with a nervous smile.

"Oh, thank you," I said, moving my notebooks and computer off to the side. "Curry, huh?"

"It's the only thing I know how to make," she said, embarrassed. "If you don't like it, I can try and make something else."

I grabbed a spoon and took a bite. "It's good," I said, nodding as I stirred it. "I used to eat this a lot when I went to school in Britain...but this isn't half bad."

Kaho's eyes lit up like a five-year old at Christmas at the praise. I chuckled at her expression and continued eating.

_Maybe this won't be that bad?_ I thought, staring out the window at the setting sun. _It might actually be kind of fun?_

**AND CUT! WELL, I'LL STOP IT HERE. A QUICK SHOUTOUT TO MY LOYAL REVIEWERS FOR READING THIS CHAPTER: **

**SargentFalco: You'll find out soon!**

**HUNTERKLLR: Thank you!**

** : Surprise! **

**ALSO, IF ANY OF YOU ARE CONFUSED ABOUT WHAT WILL'S ARM LOOKS LIKE, IT'S EXACTLY THE SAME AS THE PROTHSTETIC FROM ADVANCED WARFARE. **

**SO I'M SIGNING OFF NOW. THE NEXT CHAPTER SHOULD BE FINISHED BY TUESDAY. **

**MickDunD-Out! **


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

**GREETINGS CARBON-BASED LIFE-FORMS. I COME TO YOU FROM MY SECRET LAIR AT THE CENTER OF THE WORLD (BASEMENT). MY REASON FOR THIS IS SIMPLE: TO DELIVER THE NEW CHAPTER OF AGE OF ADVANCEMENT! **

**TO MY REVIEWERS: **

**Deathknight999: Your curiosity will now be sated! And to answer your other question, maybe I will put a lemon in, but not yet. I don't want to rush things. **

** : Here you go!**

**chase8999: How about that?**

**HUNTERKLLR: You will **_**DEFINITELY **_**be liking the next few chapters…**

**prophet (Guest): Thank you for your support!**

**Ezio Auditore00: Yes it will be a harem. As for the limit, I haven't decided yet. If you have a suggestion, feel free to ask. **

**NOW ON WITH THE SHOW!**

"BREE! BREE! BREE!"

I slammed my hand down on the off button and rolled over. I didn't want to wake up yet. My bed and pillows felt nicer than usual...warmer too. It was like I was sleeping next to a gigantic soft hot water bottle.

"Mmmmm, Will-sama."

My eyes snapped open and looked around the room. I groaned and grit my teeth at the situation I was currently in.

Kaho was laying next to me, completely naked, with her breasts pressed up against my head. She had her arms wrapped around my neck and her face was pressed into my hair. I think she was nuzzling me too.

_Dear lord, I'm in marshmallow hell_, I thought, trying not to think about Kaho in any way.

Very carefully, I pried her fingers loose from around my head and slipped out of her embrace. Once I was free, I ran to the bathroom and took the coldest shower humanly possible.

_Shit, this is worse than the time I accidentally walked into the girls locker room and had to hide in the stall,_ I thought, lightly slamming my head against the shower wall.

"Will-sama?" I heard Kaho call.

"I'm in the shower," I said. "Don't come in!"

"Ah, okay," she said, I could hear her yawn. "How did you sleep?"

"Fine!" I said automatically. "I slept just fine, how about you?!"

I heard a pleasant sigh from the other side of the door. "I slept great...I dreamed about you."

I swear my face turned the same color as a tomato. "R-really?" I asked, turning the shower down to the coldest setting possible.

"Yes," she said. "It was a nice dream."

I swallowed and shook the dirty thoughts out of my head. Now was not the time do anything inappropriate. I had school in an hour, and I didn't even know the first thing about women anyway.

"Well, I'm glad you slept nice," I said, using my most professional tone. "I'm going to finish my shower and then I'll join you for breakfast."

"Alright," she said. "Would you like me to wash your back?"

"No thank you," I said. "Just go downstairs and wait for me. I'll be there in five minutes."

"As you wish," I heard her say before her footsteps faded.

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding and slumped against the wall of the shower. I quickly finished up and got dressed in a collared shirt and slacks, plus my glove. I walked downstairs to the kitchen to find Kaho standing at the table looking around.

"Problem?" I asked.

"Ah, Will-sama," she said with a smile. "Good morning."

I couldn't help but smile back. "Morning, Kaho," I said, walking to the fridge and pulling out a container of pancake batter leftover from breakfast two days ago and a few chocolate HOOAH! Bars. I loved those things. After a few minutes of flipping and pouring the batter, I set the table and served. Three pancakes for each of us seemed like a reasonable serving.

"Eat up," I said, handing Kaho her food.

"Thank you," she smiled, digging in.

I grinned and started myself. Breakfast passed very quickly thanks to our joint hunger, each of us taking not even two minutes to finish three pancakes plus four HOOAH! Bars each.

"That was delicious!" Kaho said with a satisfied smile.

"Glad you like it," I chuckled, looking at my watch. "Well, I've got school now…."

"When will you be back?" she asked.

"About three," I said, grabbing my bookbag and slinging it over my shoulder.

"Ah...okay," she looked disappointed. I patted her on the shoulder and gave her a smile.

"Hey, its not like I'm leaving forever," I said. "I'll be back…"

She smiled softly and hugged me. I smiled back and returned the embrace, giving her a few pats on the back.

"Will-sama," Kaho said. "Perhaps it would be best if I accompanied you?"

"Huh?" I had no idea where this was coming from.

"The Professor said that he might do something to you," she explained. "And if I'm not there, you could be attacked."

"Uh, I really don't think that's going to happen, Kaho," I said, looking down at her. "Minaka said as long as I don't try to leave or tell anyone, he wouldn't come after me."

I looked into her eyes and saw that she wasn't going to let this go. I sighed and cupped her face. "I'll be fine," I said, deciding to follow my instincts. "Here."

I leaned down and kissed her. Right away, I felt that warmth blossom in my stomach and traverse the length of my body. Even with my eyes closed, I sensed the faint luminescence of her wings flaring out. I kept the kiss chaste, pulling back after a few seconds. Kaho had a bright blush on her face, which told me that I had done the right thing.

"I'll be fine," I repeated, heading for the door.

She nodded, gently touching her lips with a smile. I walked outside and got in the car. It looked like Joker was driving today.

"Morning, boss," he said.

"Morning," I said as the car started moving. "Did you hear anything last night?"

"Nothing major," he shrugged. "Just some strange plant growth happening in the city's botanical gardens. Oh, and this just came in."

He reached into his vest and pulled out an iPhone. "We made sure that this one can't be hacked as easily," he said. "It has the same features as your old one, and we managed to transfer your contacts as well."

"Thanks," I said, pocketing it.

"Any trouble with your arm?"

"None," I said, flexing my fingers. "Although last night's fix probably won't hold for another day or so."

He nodded and fell silent as we passed the Shinto Teito Botanical Gardens. My eyes shot open and my jaw dropped at what I saw outside. When he'd said "strange plant growth," I thought he'd meant they had weeds or something, not a fucking rainforest springing up overnight! I also saw three APC stationed outside the main gate, with a small crew of armed guards milling around them.

"MBI?" I asked, noticing the logo on the APCs.

"Yeah, they're taking charge of the situation," Joker said, stopping at a light. "'Ya ask me, I bet it's their fault."

"You're probably right," I sighed, slumping in my seat.

I looked out the window at the sidewalks, looking at the masses of people walking by. At first I saw nothing out of the ordinary, but then I started noticing things. There were a few people in the crowd who looked like they didn't belong. I saw three men around my age walking around, each of them accompanied by an attractive young woman wearing either ridiculous or revealing clothes, one of them carrying a set of dual shortswords. And each of them looked like they were expecting a monster to pop out of the shadows and attack them.

"You see them too, huh?" Joker said, drumming his fingers on the wheel.

I nodded and slowly reached for the glove compartment, and the Atlas 45 handgun that lay inside.

"Relax," Joker said. "Mitchell's following us a few cars back and Gideon and Ilona are tracking us as we speak. Plus, none of these guys look like they know we're here."

"That doesn't exactly make me feel better," I muttered, lowering my hand.

We arrived at the campus ten minutes later without incident. I got out and headed to my first class. Periods dragged on until about twelve o'clock...which is when things got worse, and by worse I mean a two hour lecture on acids and pH. Half an hour into the period, I was softly slamming my head against my textbook.

_Sooooo boring!_ I grumbled in my head, looking around for a way to escape this prison. I decided to use a classic and raised my hand.

"Sensei, I'm heading to bathroom," I said, standing up and leaving the room before he could say anything. (First rule of ditching: never give the teacher a chance to say you can't go. Then if you're caught, you can say that you didn't hear them.)

I rolled my shoulders and neck out as I walked around, not really caring where I was going. After about five minutes of walking in circles, I decided to check out the engineering wing that dad had funded. It wasn't that far away from the lecture hall, just about a five minute walk. I turned down a corridor and walked further until I heard something crack under my foot. I looked down and saw I had stepped on a piece of broken glass. I blinked and realized that the nearest window had been pulverized and there was glass all over the floor, as well as what looked like blood.

"What the hell?" I asked myself, looking at the trail of blood that lead further down the hall into the engineering lab.

I kept walking, following the blood trail deeper and deeper. Finally, the trail stopped at a door...a door with a bloody handprint on it. I swallowed and opened it. The room inside was pitch black; shades drawn tight and the lights off.

"Hello?" I called. "Is there anyone in here?"

There was no reply, so I kept walking, using my phone's flashlight to light the path. The blood trail resumed, twisting and winding towards the furthest corner of the room. As I got closer and closer, I started hearing what sounded like panicked breathing. Finally, I found a pile of cardboard boxes that looked like they'd been quickly thrown together. I looked down and saw the blood trail ended here.

"Hello?" I asked, pulling one of the top boxes away.

Suddenly, a hand lashed out of the darkness behind the boxes and grabbed me by my collar. I opened my mouth to scream and dropped my phone as I was dragged behind the boxes. I'd barely got out a single "AAAH!" before another hand slapped over my mouth and silenced me.

"Shut up!" hissed a female voice.

I wasn't listening. I screamed into her hand and thrashed around around, trying to shake her off. All she did was grab me around my waist and tangle my legs up with hers. hold tighter. And boy, let me tell you...she was hella strong.

"Damnit!" she growled into my ear. "Shut up now or they'll find us!"

That made me quiet down a bit. So she wasn't trying to kill me...that was a plus...I guess. I stopped struggling and relaxed in her grip. Slowly, she eased off her grip and uncovered my mouth.

"What's going on?" I coughed. "Who are you?"

"Shh!" she hissed, ducking further into the shadows. "Here they come!"

I was about to ask what she meant when I heard voices coming from outside the windows. I blinked and shrunk back behind the boxes, peeking out just enough to see three silhouettes behind the window shades.

"Did she get away?" asked a cold and melancholy female voice.

"Oh, this is bad!" said another girl, who sounded really worried. "Higa-sama's going to be really mad that we lost her!"

"Shut up, both of you!" growled a hateful-sounding woman. "She can't have gotten far! Katsuragi, you go north, Shi, head west. I'll head south. We can't go back to Higa-sama without her!"

"Hai!" they both said before all three of them vanished, heading off in different directions. From behind me, I heard the woman sigh in relief and slump against the back wall.

"Hey, are you okay?" I asked, picking my phone up and turning the flashlight on her. My eyes practically bugged out of my head at what I saw.

She was a tall woman, about my age. She had tan skin and black hair that closely framed her skull. She was _very _attractive, but what I was more surprised about were her clothes. She was showing more skin than cloth with that outfit. I could see midriff, her sides, her arms, even the outer portions of her thighs were exposed. The cloth was yellow and purple, held together at by a metal ring right below her (huge) breasts. She had short black fingerless gloves as well as long thigh-high boots to finish it off.

"You're a Sekirei aren't you?" I asked, moving over to her.

She shot me a deadly glare that stopped me in my tracks. I put my hands up and swallowed as she stared at me.

"So you're an Ashikabi, huh?" she snarled.

"Uh, yeah," I said, settling back into a sitting position. "Yeah, I'm an Ashikabi...so what?"

The Sekirei scoffed and opened her mouth to say something, but then winced, gritting her teeth in pain. I blinked and noticed that she was holding her right side, her hand pressed against the exposed skin. Then I noticed that her hand and the cloth around it was covered in blood.

"Oh, shit you're hurt!" I got up and looked around the room. We were in an engineering lab with heavy and potentially dangerous machines, so there was bound to be a heavy-duty first-aid kit in here somewhere. I rushed over to the door and pulled the heavy white box off it's stand and ran back to her.

"I'm fine," she growled, partly in anger, partly in pain.

"With all due respect, miss, no you're not," I said. "Look, I don't care about whatever you're mixed up in right now, okay! You're hurt, and I can help you. So just let me stop the bleeding, and then you can be as pissed-off as you want, deal?"

She glared at me for a few seconds, but slowly lifted her hand away from her side, showing a nasty cut that ran across her side. I breathed a sigh of relief; it wasn't deep or wide. It had just hit the fleshy part of her waist, which explained why there was so much blood. She would be fine. I opened the kit and pulled out some antiseptic.

"This is going to sting," I warned her, pouring a little across the cut. She winced and hissed in pain, clenching her hands into tight fists.

Next, I grabbed a roll of gauze and rolled it up around my palm. Then I gently pressed my hand against the cut, slowly applying pressure. She winced again, but not as dramatically. I could feel her eyes on my as I worked, watching to see if I would pull a fast one. I rolled my eyes and continued working. I kept my hand on her side for a good ten minutes before I felt the bleeding completely stop. As I felt this, I reached into the kit and pulled out a canister of liquid bandage. I popped the top and quickly sprayed the waterproof sealant over the wound.

"There we go," I sighed, wiping my forehead on the back of my hand. "All fixed for now."

She looked down at her side as I took a large compress pad and slapped it over the cut in case the wound opened again.

"Okay," I said. "I've stopped the bleeding for now, so you look like you'll be fine. But if you want, I can call a doctor."

She shook her head. "I just need a minute," she said.

I nodded and sat down across from her. "Uh, I'm Will, by the way," I said, holding out my hand.

"Ichiya," she said, ignoring my hand. "Sekirei Number 18."

"Nice to meet you," I smiled good-naturedly. "So...if you don't mind me asking, how did you get that cut anyway?"

She scowled. "Some Ashikabi named Higa tried to wing me by force," she spat. "I managed to get away, but he sent those three bitches after me...one of them managed to hit me."

"Wait, he tried to wing you by force?" I asked. "That can happen?"

She looked at me like I was an idiot. "You didn't know that?"

"Yeah, well, I only became an Ashikabi yesterday," I shrugged. "Excuse me for not knowing everything."

She chuckled and looked towards the window. "So you just thought only a Sekirei's destined Ashikabi could wing her?" she asked.

"Well...yeah," I said. "So I assume that any Ashikabi can wing a Sekirei whether she wants it or not?"

She nodded. "That bastard already has seven Sekirei," she said, fury building in her voice. "And then he tried to take me too. If I see him again, I'll rip his head off."

Something in her tone told me she would make good on that promise. I sat back on my hands and stared at the ceiling.

"So...what now?" I asked.

She looked at me out of the corner of her eye. "What do you mean?"

"I mean what are you going to do now?" I asked. "Do you have a place to stay or something?"

She shook her head. "I've managed so far," she said. "I'll be fine."

I smiled and stood up, dusting myself off and straightening my shirt. "Well, I should probably get back to class," I said, fishing a scrap of paper out of my pocket and writing my address and phone number on it. "If you need anything, this is where to find me."

"I don't need your help," she snapped.

"I didn't say that," I defended. "I'm just offering it. Whether you accept it or not is up to you."

She looked at the paper in my hand for a moment before she took it and stuck it right between her breasts.

"Ah," I said, looking away so she wouldn't see the red flush that had crept onto my face.

"What?" she asked with a teasing grin, gesturing to her outfit. "Does it look like I have pockets?"

I laughed and walked for the door. "Take care of yourself," I told her.

She gave me a smirk. "You too."

I got back to the lecture hall and walked back to my seat as the professor shouted at me for taking a half-hour "bathroom break." I really didn't care what he said. If I got in trouble, so what? It's not like there was a rule against bathroom breaks. And besides, I'd helped someone, which made today alright in my books. The rest of school dragged by rather slowly, so when my last class finally ended, I was all too relieved to get in the car and head back to the base. After rolling through the checkpoint, Joker dropped me off at my apartment for the night.

"I'm back!" I called as I walked inside.

Right away, Kaho rushed down the stairs and jumped into my arms. "Welcome home, Will-sama," she said, hugging me.

"Hey, Kaho," I smiled, hugging her back. "How was your day?"

"It was very good!" she said. "Ilona-san helped me with my training today!"

"Cool," I said, releasing her and walking into the kitchen. "Was she hard on you?"

She shook her head. "No, all she had me do was exercise," she said. "She said something about conditioning my muscles to handle stress."

I shuddered at those words. When I had gotten out of the hospital and was on the first trial run of my arm, Ilona had helped me with my physical therapy. "First we'll condition your muscles to handle stress," were her exact words. What she did to me can only be described as pure torture. Running three miles without a break, lifting up to 160 pounds, pushing a jeep for at least twenty yards...and for a kid who had just spent three weeks in the ICU, barely moving a muscle except to eat, scratch my nose, change the channel, and walk to the bathroom, that was a lot.

"Well, if you think it helps," I said, pulling a microwave pizza out of the freezer.

She nodded and beamed at me. "She really is a good teacher," she said.

_And Lindsay Lohan is a model citizen,_ I thought, heating up the oven for the pizza.

I heard a knock on the door and walked over to it, opening it up to see Mitchell standing there, an assault rifle clipped to his combat vest and running jeep parked a few yards away.

"Sorry to disturb you sir," he said. "But we've got a situation at the gate."

"What kind of situation?" I asked.

"You'll have to see it for yourself," he said. "Come on...and you might want to have Kaho come with us."

I shrugged and the three of us got in the jeep and Mitchell floored it to the gate. When we got there, I saw that there was double the amount of guards there, all of them fully armed. Mitchell jumped out and brought his rifle to bear at the gate.

"What's going on?" Kaho asked.

"'Damned if I know," I shrugged. "Will someone tell me what the hell is going on right now?"

"Sir," Joker said, jogging over to me. "A few minutes we got a call from a woman asking for you. She said she was told to come here if she needed help and that she would be here soon. She arrived just a few minutes before I was sent to get you"

"Ichiya!" I exclaimed, happy that she was still okay. "Well, don't just stand there! Open the damn gate!"

"Well, we would sir," he said. "But she's being chased by three other women. Last I heard, she's being attacked by them."

My eyes shot open. Was it those three from before? Did that Higa person send them after her again? I quickly stormed over to the security room and looked at the feed from the cameras outside the gate. There was Ichiya, fighting hand-to-hand against those three girls. One of them was dressed kind of like Kaho was, slashing with a pair of blades that seemed to be strapped to her arms. Another was wearing what looked like a maid's outfit and was slinging bladed disks at Ichiya without hesitation. The last one wore a yellow and black tracksuit and seemed to be kicking at her. Her expression was blank, like she just didn't care about anything in the world.

"Fuck," I cursed. "Joker!"

"Sir!" he said, looking into the security room.

"Move everyone back from the gate," I said. "I'm heading outside. Kaho!"

"Hai!" she said, twirling her nagatina.

I entered the command for the gates to open and looked at Joker. "If things go south, take them all out," I said.

"Sir, this really isn't a smart idea. We should move now and take them all out now," he warned, but I cut him off with a glare.

"If things go bad," I repeated, "shoot them all. If not, then don't do anything. Understand?"

He pursed his lips, but nodded. "Good," I said, walking out to the opening gate with Kaho. "Ready?"

She nodded, holding her nagatina at the ready as the gate opened enough for us to get out. "Go!"

Kaho moved, jumping high to attack the Sekirei with the arm-blades. "_Ikusa no Mai," _she chanted, slashing her blade through a series of intricate arcs, carving up the pavement with sheer force. "_Sakuhime!"_

"Kyaa!" the smaller Sekirei wailed as Kaho's attack slammed into her, knocking her back and shredding her clothes. "Katsuragi, help!"

The redhead in the track suit looked over as Kaho finished her attack.

"Kaho, watch out behind you!" I called as the enemy Sekirei jumped towards her, chambering a kick.

Kaho turned around just in time to see the attack, swinging her blade upwards to slice the small Sekirei across her chest. But before either attack could connect, a purple and yellow blur slammed into Katsuragi, knocking her clear across the street and into a brick wall.

"'Couldn't let you have all the fun," Ichiya coughed, staggering a little.

I winced when I saw the extent of her injuries. She was black and blue all over, with small scratches that littered her body and shredded what little clothes she had. She didn't seem to be severely hurt like how I'd found her, and it didn't look the cut on her side had opened up again. But she still looked like she'd gone twelve rounds with Floyd Mayweather.

I jogged over to her and grabbed her arm. "Come on," I said, pulling her back towards the gate. "Lets get you inside."

"Hold it!" yelled the other Sekirei in the maid outfit. "My master wants that Sekirei! You can't just take her!"

"I disagree," I said. "I _can _take her, and I _am_ taking her to get help right now."

"Listen you trash," she growled. "My master ordered me to-"

"Shouldn't you be getting back to your maid cafe now?" I interrupted. "Or is your Ashikabi just that much of a pervert that he won't let you wear normal clothes?"

(Across town, Hibiki and Hikari both sneezed and zapped Seo for no good reason.)

Ichiya snorted and started laughing uncontrollably while Kaho just giggled as the enemy Sekirei turned a bright red and started sputtering like a moron. After a few seconds, her expression turned murderous and a bunch of those disks began hovering behind her.

"Uh-oh," I said, realizing that she was pointing those things at me.

I was just about to call out to Joker and have him open fire, when Kaho walked out in front of me.

"Let me handle this, Will-sama," she said, brandishing her nagatina.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

She nodded and gave me a smile before facing the other girl. "Sekirei Number 87, Kaho," she said. "I will not lose to you!"

"Number 101, Oriha," the other girl growled before launching off a flurry of disks at her. "I could say the same!"

With all the grace and finesse of a professional acrobat, Kaho jumped, flipping forwards around the incoming projectiles. She spun her blade around, deflecting as many as she could as she landed and raced off towards Oriha. The petite girl backpedaled, jumping backwards to avoid Kaho's slashes, but it was clear that she wouldn't be able to keep up with her for long.

"She's fast," Ichiya commented, watching as Kaho slashed one of Oriha's disks in half with a single strike.

"Yeah," I said, watching her corner the maid Sekirei against a wall.

Oriha's back slammed into the wall as she ran out of room to dodge. Kaho settled into a ready stance, her blade held in a slashing position. The smaller maid Sekirei looked around wildly for an escape as Kaho brought her nagatina back.

"_Tsuwamono no Mai" _ she chanted again, dashing forwards while swinging her blade towards the ground. "_Hyakka!"_

The attack connected, shredding the pavement and sending it flying towards Oriha. Her expression contorted in a mixture of fear and pain as the storm of concrete and metal connected with her. I winced and looked away as the dust settled, revealing the bloodied and broken body of Sekirei Number 101. Her hair was a mess and her clothes were ripped to shreds, showing off her back. I blinked and squinted at her shoulder blades, watching as what looked like a small tattoo glowed and then vanished.

"Did she win?" I asked as Kaho straightened up and planted her blade at her feet.

"Yeah," Ichiya said, admiration in her eyes. "Damn, she's strong."

I nodded and shifted her weight onto my right shoulder, using my left hand to cup my mouth. "Hey, Kaho, let's go!" I yelled.

"One moment, Will-sama," she said, looking up at the sky.

I blinked and looked up as well, searching for whatever Kaho was looking at. Then I heard the thumping of helicopter blades and looked towards the MBI tower, watching as two choppers flew towards us. My eyes narrowed and for a second I worried that they were here for me.

"Okay," Kaho said, jogging back to me and taking Ichiya's other shoulder. "Let's go, Will-sama."

"Yeah," I said, glaring at the helicopters for a few more seconds before I turned and we walked back towards the gate. "Let's get you patched up, Ichiya."

We walked back inside and over to the closest jeep. The area was full of soldiers standing around with confused expressions, looking at me and Ichiya in particular. I glared at them, remembering a trick I'd seen dad use once.

"What are you waiting for, an invitation?" I yelled. "Secure the area! There are two MBI choppers incoming and I want them out of here ASAP! UNDERSTAND?!"

"Yes sir!" they chorused, rushing out of the gate and beginning to form squads.

I sighed and helped Ichiya into the jeep's backseat. These guys were good soldiers, but they could be a little stupid sometimes. Kaho climbed into the passengers seat as I started the engine.

"Joker," I said, grabbing the jeep's radio. "I'm heading back to my apartment now. Don't disturb me unless we're being attacked."

"Understood, sir," he said.

I floored it and drove back. I helped Ichiya inside and over to the couch, having Kaho grab the first-aid kit from the bathroom. She grumbled and griped as we tended her wounds, but I could tell that she was kind of happy.

"Okay," I said, rubbing antibiotic cream on the last of her scratches. "You should be fine with a good night's sleep."

"I would have been fine," she growled, crossing her arms and looking away.

"Sure, sure," I allowed, standing up and dusting my sleeve off.

"Will-sama, dinner is almost ready," Kaho said from the kitchen.

"Great, thanks Kaho," I said, packing up the medical supplies.

"Hey," Ichiya said, peaking around me at my left side. "What's with that glove? You're only wearing one."

"Oh, Will-sama has a robot arm," Kaho said, poking her head in from the kitchen. "He never takes it off because no one is supposed to know about it."

"Kaho!" I yelled. "You're not supposed to tell people that!"

"Oh!" she made that face that made me feel like I had kicked a puppy. "I'm so sorry…"

I sighed and berated myself for being so easily swayed by a pretty girl. "It's okay, I guess," I said, rubbing my forehead. "I trust Ichiya won't tell."

"Wait, so you really have a robot arm?" she asked, cocking an eyebrow.

I nodded and pulled off the glove, flexing my fingers to show her that it really was mechanical. "Technically it's a prothstetic," I corrected.

"So what happened to your real arm?" she asked.

I flinched. There was that question again...the one Kaho had asked me when we first met.

"Let's just say I lost it," I laughed sheepishly.

Ichiya glared at me for a moment, but then relaxed. "Whatever," she said, looking out the window.

I shrugged and started walking out the door when I felt something touch my leg. I looked down and saw Ichiya had stuck her leg out, blocking my path.

"Yeah?" I asked. "Is there something wrong?"

"I, uh," she stammered. "I just...never said thank you…"

I smiled and sat down next to her. "It's okay," I said. "I could never let a pretty girl suffer."

Ichiya blinked and flushed a deep crimson. "Y-yeah," she mumbled, looking down at the couch cushions. "Thanks for saving me."

"No problem," I nodded, turning around. Suddenly, something tripped me, twisting my body around so I fell directly on the couch...landing right on Ichiya with my face smashing into her chest. "MMMMPH!"

I tried to push myself off her, but she wrapped her arms around me and pressed me even closer. I struggled a little, but her superior strength won out. I felt her head press against my scalp, nuzzling my hair.

"This feeling," she panted. "What...what is this feeling?"

I peeked upwards over the curve of her breasts and saw her face was flushed a bright red. Sweat shone on her forehead and she was panting pretty hard. I blinked and realized that Kaho had been the exact same way before I had winged her.

"Ichi-YAAH!" I yelped as she suddenly flipped us over so she was laying on top of me. "I-Ichiya…"

"Ashikabi…" she whispered before slamming her lips against mine. "My Ashikabi…"

Ichiya's wings were a deep gold color, with tinges of purple at their tips. They burst from her back and stretched across the length of the room casting a bright glow over the entire space. Her grip on me tightened, added by the fact that her legs wrapped around my waist. Her hips slowly gyrated back and forth as she deepened the kiss, adding her tongue to the mix. I blinked and realized that she was also rubbing her chest on mine. I swear I was about to pass out from the sensory overload when Kaho chose the right time to reappear.

"Will-sama!" she exclaimed as Ichiya released me from her lip-lock. "You got another Sekirei, this is great!"

"It is?" I gasped, sucking down air.

She nodded. "The more Sekirei you have, the better protected you are," she said, jumping onto the couch and latching onto my free arm, which she immediately pressed right between her breasts. I blushed and looked away, which brought me face-to-face with Ichiya.

"Uh," I said, at a loss for words. "Yay?"

My newest Sekirei smirked and buried her face in the crook of my neck, pressing her lips against my skin. I blushed and gently wrapped my hand around her waist.

"Now and forever," she whispered in my ear, lightly nibbling on my earlobe.

"Y-yeah," I said, trying to stop myself from reacting to her 'treatment.' "Anyway, I'm hungry. How about you guys?"

Kaho eagerly nodded. Ichiya looked a little disappointed, but shrugged and followed me into the kitchen.

_Two Sekirei,_ I thought. _What's next?"_

**THIS FEELS LIKE A GOOD SPOT TO END THINGS. **

**SO NOW WE SEE WILL'S SECOND SEKIREI: NO. 18 ICHIYA! I JUST THOUGHT SHE HAD TOO MUCH POTENTIAL TO BE STUCK WITH HIGA...IF ANYONE DISAGREES, TALK TO MY SECRETARY. **

**THE NEXT CHAPTER MIGHT TAKE A WHILE, BUT WITH WINTER BREAK COMING UP, I'LL BE ABLE TO WRITE A LOT. UNTIL THEN, STAY FROSTY, FANFICTION!**

**MickDunD-Out!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

**YAO! I'M BACK WITH CHAPTER 4, PEOPLE! YOUR PRAYERS HAVE BEEN ANSWERED!**

**HUNTERKLLR: Here's your surprise!**

** : You have an automatic review response, don't you?**

**chase8999: You asked how to contact my secretary...the truth is I've never seen her. All I know is that she exists only to make me miserable. **

**Ezio Auditore00: Here's your answer to the Minato question!**

**Mr. M0j0: Here's the update!**

**SargentFalco: I live to surprise!**

**ALL HAIL THE SECRETARY!**

_I'm in hell,_ I mentally moaned.

After a light dinner, we had all gone to bed...well, I know I had. Kaho and Ichiya were still talking in the kitchen when I fell asleep. They must have come up here during the night...which leads to my current predicament.

Kaho was curled up on my left side much like she had been last time. She was completely nude, snuggled up against my arm with her head buried into the crook of my shoulder. I could feel her lips against my skin, almost as if she was subconsciously trying to kiss me. Her legs were tangled around my left calf, making it impossible to move without waking her.

Ichiya had taken my right side in a more...mature fashion. Like Kaho she had slept in the nude and grabbed my arm and hugged it, but because she was taller than Kaho, her breasts were in clear view and pressed against my cheek. She also seemed to be...grinding against me.

"That's it," I moaned. "I'm dead...I've died and gone to marshmallow hell."

"Well, let's see if I can't turn this into heaven," I heard Ichiya purr in my ear.

I looked over to my right just in time to see Ichiya press her lips against mine. Right away I felt the warmth blossom through my body as Ichiya's wings spread. Her hand wrapped around my neck, pulling me deeper into the kiss. My body moved on its own, using my free hand to cup her face. I felt her tongue slip into my mouth and begin a passionate dance. She slipped into my lap, pressing her body close against mine. I could feel every single detail about her body as we kissed. It was almost like we were one person.

"Hey, not fair!"

I broke the kiss and saw that Kaho was awake now and looking at me with an annoyed expression.

"I want a kiss too," she pouted.

I looked at Ichiya, who just shrugged and slid out of bed. "I'm gonna shower," she said, heading to the bathroom without making any motion to cover herself.

I averted my eyes just in time to come face-to-face with Kaho, who was looking at me with an expectant expression. I gave a phony sigh of exasperation and hugged my first Sekirei, lightly kissing her. Kaho returned the kiss slowly, moving her arms around to hug me back. She made no moves to deepen the kiss or escalate to something sexual. She was simply happy with a simple show of love...one of the things I found cute about her.

She finally broke the kiss and sat back, using the covers to cover herself. She beamed at me.

"Thank you, Will-sama," she said, giving me a hug before she jumped out of bed and left the room, dragging my bedsheets with her like a cape.

"Oo-kay," I sighed, rubbing my head at what just happened. "Not the worst way to wake up, I suppose…"

I hopped out of bed and got dressed, opting to just wear jeans and blue shirt that had the Atlas logo on it. I was kind of sick of dressing fancy when none of the other students bothered to take any pride in their appearances. As soon as I was dressed, I headed downstairs to find Kaho already dressed and talking with Ilona.

"Morning, sir," she said.

"Hey, Ilona," I said. "What's new?"

"Nothing major," she said, pointing at a stack of grocery bags on the counter. "I was just coming in to drop off the food when I ran into Kaho."

"What's going on?" Ichiya asked, walking in fully clothed.

"Uh, Ichiya this is Ilona," I said. "She's part of my security detail. Ilona, this is Sekirei Number 18, Ichiya."

Ichiya nodded towards Ilona before siding up behind me and hugging me, pressing her breasts against my back.

"Ilona-sensei, will we be training again today?" Kaho asked.

Ilona nodded, checking her watch. "Meet me at the obstacle course at ten," she said, looking over at Ichiya. "You're welcome to join in if you want."

"I'll think about it," she said, not letting go of me.

I sighed and slowly managed to squirm out of her grip, kissing the both of them goodbye before getting in the car and heading to school. My first few periods flew by until I had enginnering. The professor was a little off if you ask me, but he seemed to know his stuff well enough.

"Okay everyone!" he announced, clapping his hands as we took our seats. "I am happy to announce that we will be starting our first project of the year! The theme is an innovation in the field of medical technology! This will be a team project between you and a partner, so the grade will depend on both your contributions to the final model. I have taken the liberty of assigning teams, so here we go!"

He rambled on and on for a few minutes, giving out names as well as some useless facts about his personal life until he finally said something useful.

"Irons William will be paired with Sahashi Minato," he said, pointing to me and the other kid.

I looked back and took a good look at my new partner. The first word that came to my mind when I saw him was "wimp." He looked like he had zero upper and lower body strength, and probably had never been to the gym in his life (not that I went every single day, mind you.) He didn't seem like a bad kid though. I suppose things could have been worse...I could be paired with some worthless pervert who wanted to build a sex robot.

The professor gave us the rest of the period to get acquainted with each other while while he went to the "bathroom" as he put it. I got up and walked to the back of the room, grabbing an empty desk next to my partner.

"'Sup?" I asked, sitting down.

"H-hello," he said with a shaky smile. "Nice to meet you, Irons-san."

"Just call me Will, Mr. Sahashi," I said. "I'm still not used to Japanese."

"Okay...Will," he said, opening his notebook. "I have to warn you that I'm not really that skilled at designing things."

"That's fine," I said, opening my notebook and readying my pencil. "What are you good at?"

"W-well, I want to be a doctor," he said. "So I'm good at biology and medicine."

"I can work with that," I said as we sat down and started taking over ideas.

I had to admit, Minato was a really smart kid who definitely knew his shit. We finally settled on building a prototype auto-injector. I was sure I could build the servos and Minato said he could teach the computer to give shots and maybe even monitor IV drips. By the time, class ended, we ended up exchanging numbers and setting aside some additional time to meet after school to start writing out the blueprints.

The rest of the day dragged on slowly. Professors rambled, students chatted, people played obnoxious Japanese pop music in the halls, and generally made me waste time. All I wanted to do was finish school, head home for a little bit, then head over to Minato's place to do some good old fashioned engineering.

Finally, school ended for me and I dashed home. As soon as I walked in the door, I realized I was under attack.

"Will/Will-sama!"

"ACK!"

I was knocked over by my two Sekirei as soon as I took off my shoes. They jumped on me, sending me to the floor as the hugged me, accidentally pressing my face right into their breasts.

_Marshmallow hell, thou art a heartless bitch_, I thought as I heard Ichiya and Kaho cooing and snuggling me.

"How was your day?" Kaho asked, sitting in seiza as they released me.

"It was okay," I said, rubbing the back of my head. "But I gotta head back out in a little bit."

"Why?" Ichiya asked, draping herself around my shoulders.

"One of my classmates and I are doing a project," I explained. "Gideon would have a cow if he came into the apartment, so I'm heading to his place."

"Sounds boring," Ichiya groaned. "Why don't you stay here, Will? Kaho and I have been waiting to...play...with...you~"

Those last three words were accompanied by a sensual grind on my lower back. I blinked and turned my head away to hide my blush. I pried Ichiya off my shoulders and sat her down on the couch.

"As fun as that sounds," I said, going 'business mode,' "this project is gonna count a lot for my grade. I can't just blow off Sahashi like that."

"Sahashi?" Kaho asked.

"Yep," I said. "His name is Minato Sahashi. 'You know him?"

"Nope," Kaho smiled. "My adjuster's name was Takami Sahashi. She was really terrifying!"

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and just gave Kaho a quick chuckle before grabbing a sandwich and heading to the living room to eat. As I walked in, I saw my Xbox was on, displaying the home screen for the newest Call of Duty game.

"Oh, sorry about that," Ichiya said, rubbing the back of her head. "Kaho and I were bored, so we were trying to figure out how to play."

I smirked and threw her a controller. "Show me what you've learned so far," I said, starting a game of Team Deathmatch, one-on-one.

Ichiya and I played a few rounds before she had to switch off to Kaho, running to the nearest wall and repeatedly banging her head against it in frustration.

_Wow, she does not like to lose,_ I smirked as I gunned down the enemy avatar for the sixth time in a row.

"Will-sama, you're amazing at this!" Kaho exclaimed, not even fazed by the fact that she had lost without getting a single kill.

"Yeah, my dad used to play this with me when I was little," I said, setting my controller down and picking up my sandwich.

"'Kind of violent for a little kid," Ichiya said, flopping down next to me.

I shrugged and took a bite, flipping through the other games I had on my Xbox: Destiny, Assassins Creed (all of them), Battlefield, Jaws, Alien: Isolation, GTA 5, etc. You could probably tell I was an action kind of guy. I picked Assassins Creed Black Flag and started a new game, handing the controller off to Ichiya.

"Try this on for size," I smirked as the title screen rolled through.

It was absolutely hilarious to watch both my Sekirei try and play. Ichiya didn't use her weapons at all, settling for fighting barefist against a bunch of redcoats who shot her to pieces, and Kaho kept jumping off the buildings and crashing the ship into rocks and enemy frigates. Ten minutes into Ichiya's second turn, she screamed in frustration and kicked the controller across the room.

"I HATE THIS GAME!" she shouted as I fell out of my chair, howling with laughter. "It's not funny!"

"It...kind of is," I wheezed through my fit of giggles.

Ichiya "humph-ed" and crossed her arms as Kaho retrieved the controller...or what was left of it. Her kick had completely pulverized the plastic casing and made a three-inch dent in the wall. I gulped and patted her on the shoulder.

"But this is your first time playing," I comforted her, booting up a spare controller and handing it to her. "Here, let me give you a few pointers."

"Will-sama, show me too!" Kaho said, jumping into my lap with an eager expression.

I smiled and spent the next half-hour teaching them the fine art of gaming. Kaho improved by leaps and bounds while Ichiya was a little slower with her learning. But soon she was able to get past the first memory..._barely_.

"Well, that's enough for today," I sighed, tapping Kaho for her to get off me. "I gotta get to Sahashi's place."

"Five more minutes?" Kaho pleaded, sounding like a five-year-old being told it was bedtime.

I smiled and leaned down to kiss her forehead, but when I opened my eyes she had moved her head so I was kissing her lips. I mentally shrugged and decided to go with it, wrapping my arms around her and deepening the kiss. Kaho gave a cute little moan at my touch and cradled my head as I felt Ichiya push her halfway out my lap and siddle up against my chest.

"Kiss me too," she whispered, nuzzling my face.

"Okay," I breathed, kissing her.

I kissed back and forth between the two of them for maybe fifteen minutes before my phone buzzed. It was Minato reminding me that I was supposed to come over. I sighed and looked at the two gorgeous women sitting in my lap.

"I've gotta go now," I told them, lifting the two of them off.

"No," Kaho whined. "Stay a little more."

"Yeah," Ichiya pouted, rubbing her hand across her thigh. "We were just getting comfortable…"

"Oh no," I said, wagging my finger at her. "I'm not falling for that one. I'll be back by seven."

The two of them pouted a little, but let me go. Gideon drove me through the city to the north section, lecturing me the whole way about how I was supposed to call him if anything went wrong and that he would be close by at all times. Finally, we stopped at the address Minato had given me. It was a large traditional Japanese house with a medium-sized yard and nicely kept exterior. I shrugged and walked up to the door, knocking twice. A few seconds later, the door opened.

"Yes?" asked a young woman with lavender hair.

"Hi, I'm looking for Minato Sahashi," I said. "This is the address he gave me."

"Oh yes," she said, opening the door all the way and letting me in. "Sahashi-san said he had a friend coming over."

I smiled and took off my shoes before giving a short bow. "I'm Will Irons," I said with a polite smile.

"Oh my, what a gentleman," the woman said, covering her mouth as she giggled before returning my bow. "I am the landlady of Maison Izumo, Asama Miya."

"Pleasure to meet you," I said, looking around for Minato.

"Sahashi-san is on the second floor," she said. "Room 203."

"Ah, thank you," I said, heading upstairs. "Yo, Minato!"

"Here," he said, his voice coming from an open door.

I walked in and sat down next to him at the desk. It looked like he had already started.

"Sorry I'm late," I apologized. "Things at my place got a little...distracting."

"It's fine," he laughed, rubbing the back of his head. "To be honest, I've been kind of distracted as well."

"Minato-sama~!"

I looked behind me at the door and gawked. There was a cute brunette girl standing there, wearing a skimpy maids outfit and holding a plate of curry.

"Oh, hello!" she said, smiling at me. "Who are you?"

"Musubi, this is my classmate," Minato said. "Irons Will-san. Will-san, this is my...girlfriend, Musubi."

"Nice to meet you," she said, bowing so fast she almost slammed her face into the plate she was carrying.

"Uh, likewise," I said, trying not to stare at the maids outfit.

Musubi quickly left the curry for Minato and hurried away with a "do your best!"

"Does she always act like that?" I asked, jerking my thumb at the door.

"Yeah, she's kind of energetic," he admitted with a sheepish smile.

"And what's with the maids outfit?" I asked. "'You into that stuff, man?"

"What? No, no!" he denied. "Another tenant here likes to make stuff like that and she gave Musubi that outfit!"

"Right," I sighed, patting him on the shoulder. "Whatever you say, man."

We got right to work, mapping out the bare-bones design, which was basically a syringe on a robotic arm. As we designed, we started running into problems with how to mount the syringe and have it not interfere with the arm's range of motion. As soon as we solved that one, we ran into another problem with how to dispose of the used needles. Hours began dragging by as we designed, taking steps forwards and backwards until we finally came up with a way to have the computer know when to switch needles.

"Damn," I yawned, rubbing my eyes.

"I had no idea this was so hard," Minato said, looking at the foot-high pile of scrapped designs on his desk.

"Welcome to my life man," I chuckled as there was a knock at the door.

"Come in," Minato said.

The door opened and revealed the landlady standing there with a tray with a tea kettle in her hands.

"Landlady-dono," Minato said.

"My my you two have been working hard," she said, looking at the papers on the desk as she set the tray down. "What is this?"

"It's supposed to be an auto-injector," I said. "Instead of nurses having to run around a hospital administering shot and replacing IV drips, you can have this thing do it for you."

"That sounds interesting," she said, picking up a sheet with a bunch of equations and scribbles on it.

"It really is," Minato said.

My phone rang loudly. "Excuse me," I said, answering it. "Hello?"

"Sir, is everything alright?"

I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. "Gideon, I'm perfectly fine here," I said. "You don't have to check up on me every hour."

"Yes sir," he said.

I sighed and was about to hang up when I heard a clicking sound over the line. "Was that you?"

"Sir?"

"That clicking sound," I said. "Was that you?"

"No sir," he said.

"Hang on," I said, standing up and walking around the room. I heard the click again and looked at the wall to my right. "Gideon I think there's a bug in this room."

"Should I intervene?" he asked.

"Not yet," I told him. "I'll call back when I find out."

I hung up and walked right up to the wall, tapping on it.

"Irons-san, is everything alright?" Miya asked.

"No," I mused, putting my ear to the wall and tapping again. "I think theres a microphone in here somewhere."

"Microphone?" Minato asked.

"Yeah," I said, holding up my phone. "I heard a clicking sound when I was on the phone...that means someone hid a listening device in the room."

I walked over to the desk and grabbed a letter opener before heading back to the wall and prying open a section of it. I pursed my lips and pulled out a small circular microphone from inside the plaster. It was pretty high-tech shit...for the year 2009! This thing was over ten years old, meaning it had been there a long time.

"Asama-san," I said, tossing her the bug. "Someone has been spying on you."

Her eyes narrowed as she stared down at the bug. A dark aura began wafting out from behind her, the sight of it sending a chill down my spine.

"JESUS CHRIST!" I yelped as a demonic-looking mask began forming behind her. "WHAT THE FUCK IS THA-OW!"

She'd just whipped a ladle out of her sleeve and slammed it down on my head hard enough to leave a lump. "What was that for?!" I protested.

"Foul language is not permitted in Maison Izumo," she said with a sickly sweet smile, the mask appearing from behind her. "Understand?"

"R-right," I stammered, backing away.

"So what now?" Minato asked, pointing at the bug in Miya's hand. "Who would be listening in on us?"

"I have no idea," Miya smiled. "If you'll excuse me now."

She quickly left, leaving the two of us alone. "What the hell just happened?" I asked.

"I wish I could tell you," Minato admitted. "She does that when people break her rules."

"Remind me to never get on her bad side," I said.

We designed for a few more minutes before there was another knock on the door. Musubi entered again, still wearing her maid outfit.

"Minato-sama," she said. "Landlady-dono says dinner is ready."

"Okay, thanks Musubi," Minato said, getting a bright smile from the girl.

"I'd better get going," I said, packing up my stuff. "Minato, you hold onto the designs for the weekend, alright?"

"Right," he said.

"Oh, Irons-san," Musubi said. "Landlady-dono said you are welcome to stay for dinner."

"That's really nice of her," I smiled. "But unfortunately I have a curfew. I'll see you Monday, Minato."

"Okay," he said, getting up and walking me out. "Have a good night."

I got into the car as Gideon pulled up in front of Maison Izumo. It was a quick drive back to the base, since traffic was unusually light. As I walked into the apartment, I could smell something cooking (sniff, sniff)...something that smelled _very _good. I walked into the kitchen and saw Ichiya and Kaho standing over the stove.

"Hey," I said, walking over to them. "What's cooking?"

"Ah, Will-sama," Kaho said giving me a quick hug before turning back to the stove. "Welcome home."

"Kaho thought it would be a good idea to make dinner while you were gone," Ichiya said, giving me a kiss on the cheek as she turned back to her own pot.

"That's sweet," I said, leaning over their shoulders to see what they were cooking. "What is this?"

Ichiya swept me off my feet and carried me out of the kitchen like I weighed nothing. "Ah-ah-ah," she chided. "Not until its ready."

I grumbled but decided not to argue with her. Judging from the smell, it would be worth the wait. I put my things away and kicked off my shoes, changing into a pair of sweats and a hoodie before fooling around on my computer for a little. I had just finished checking my email when I heard them call up. I quickly rushed down to the dining room to see three plates set out in front of two large pots. A delicious aroma wafted through the entire room, almost making me drool in anticipation.

"Will/Will-sama,~"

I looked behind the food and saw that Ichiya and Kaho were standing behind my chair.

"Dinner time~!"

I smiled and gave them both a kiss before I sat down. "You guys," I chided as they took their seats. "So what did you make?"

"I made curry," Kaho smiled, pointing to one of the pots. "Ichiya-san made nikujaga."

I licked my lips and we all dug in. The food was delicious, just as I had imagined. I went back for seconds and even later thirds to finish off the rest of the food. Kaho and Ichiya had both had massive portions, so by the time we finished our third helping, there was nothing left.

"Ahhh," I sighed, letting out a burp into my fist. "Now _that_ is what I call good cooking."

Both my Sekirei blushed hard as we cleared the table and did the dishes. Afterwards, we went straight to bed. Thankfully, I was able to get them to keep their pajamas on this time. As I lay there in between their warm bodies, a single thought crossed my mind.

_Things cannot possibly get any better. _

If only I knew how wrong I was.

**THAT'S A WRAP! SO NO NEW SEKIREI THIS CHAPTER, BUT WORRY NOT, SHE'LL BE MAKING AN APPEARANCE IN THE NEXT CHAPTER! I WILL PROBABLY BE ABLE TO PUMP OUT ANOTHER CHAPTER OVER WINTER BREAK BUT ONLY IF I GET THE PROPER MOTIVATION. THAT MEANS YOU PEEPS NEED TO READ AND REVIEW!**

**MickDunD-Out!**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

**SHORT CHAPTER THIS TIME. SORRY ABOUT IT, BUT I MADE A MAJOR CHANGE TO THE STORY WHILE I WAS WRITING AND HAD TO GO BACK AND REWRITE THE ENTIRE DAMN THING. I'M TO LAZY TO ANSWER REVIEWS RIGHT NOW, SO LETS JUST GO WITH THIS: **

**ALL HAIL THE SECRETARY!**

"AAARGH!"

I bolted upright in bed, arms raised in front of my face to protect my face from the blows...that never came.

"GET HIM, GET HIM GET HIM!" I heard Ichiya screaming.

"I'm trying!" Kaho shouted back. "He keeps moving!"

I blinked and realized I could hear the rapid chattering sound of assault rifle fire in the background, as well as the high-pitched whine of lasers. I sighed and realized what they were doing.

"Guys, it's six in the morning," I groaned as I walked downstairs into the living room. "It's too early for Destiny."

"Morning Will," Ichiya said, not taking her eyes off the screen. "OH, FUCK YOU!"

I blinked and realized that she had just died and was cussing out the other player, not me. Kaho laughed as she dashed through the ranks of enemy guardians with her Arc Blade, racking up a 5-killstreak.

"Wow, Kaho you improved," I said, sitting down next to them, trying to ignore Ichiya's screaming at the enemy.

"Thank you, Will-sama," she said, not taking her eyes off the screen. "Ichiya, there's heavy ammo!"

"Go get it!" Ichiya said, hip-firing her auto rifle into a doorway before rushing in, only to be taken out by a tripmine grenade. "ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?"

I rolled my eyes and walked out of the living room to make breakfast, hoping the smell of food would bring them back from cyberspace. I fixed a few servings of eggs and bacon and set the table before I poked my head into the living room.

"Breakfast is on the table," I said.

Right away, the two of them threw down their controllers and jumped over the couch, almost shoving me aside to get to the table. I laughed a little as I saw them start digging in like starving prisoners. I scowled at that thought, remembering my own...no, I wasn't going to go there. I had to keep moving forwards.

"So what do you two want to do today?" I asked.

"Ichiya and I were going to train with Joker-san today," Kaho said, wiping her mouth daintily. "Ilona-san said she had something for you."

I swallowed. Ilona training me was a guaranteed hell that I could not escape. No matter what excuse I came up with, she would find a way to shoot it down. I sighed and put my fork down.

"You aren't gonna finish?" Ichiya asked, her mouth full of bacon and egg.

"Nope," I said. "I'll probably just throw it up later."

They both gave me strange looks as I got up from the table and went to change my into some workout clothes. Eventually I decided on a simple Atlas jumpsuit like what the trainees wore and some running shoes. I headed back downstairs and walked outside.

"If I don't make it back," I called to them, "know that I love you girls."

I didn't stick around for the weird looks as I jogged over to the gym. Ilona was already waiting for me. Behind her, Gideon was in the ring sparring with three soldiers. From the number of blows they landed on him (none) I think he was winning.

"Hey, Ilona," I muttered as I walked over to her. "What will we be doing today?"

"Ah, good morning, sir," she said. "Since we've been neglecting your physical training due to school as well as the recent…"developments" regarding MBI, I've taken the liberty of designing a new training schedule for you."

"Great," I sighed. "What's first?"

I ended up regretting those words three minutes later. The workout she had me do can best be described as torture. Sprinting three laps around the base, which was probably around four miles, running the obstacle course in under ten minutes or I had to do it again, massive weight training, and finally boxing with Gideon. I managed to last three rounds at the longest before he knocked me on my ass.

"You're improving, sir," he commented as he helped me back up. "You beat your record by eight seconds."

"Hooray," I groaned, pulling off the protective gear they had me wear. "I'll take my medal now, thank you very much…"

Gideon laughed as he sat me down on the nearest bench and handed me a bottle of water. "Well, at least you're done for the day," he said.

"Yeah," I sighed, setting the bottle down and wiping my forehead. "Thank god."

My phone started ringing in my pocket. I took it out and looked at the screen before I smiled and answered.

"Minato, what's good?" I said.

"Will-san, hello," he said. "I, uh, was taking a look at the designs you left me and I think I made a breakthrough with the injector pump."

"Really?" I said, perking up. "That's great!"

"Yeah I guess it is," he said. "Anyway, I think we're almost ready to start building the prototype. What do you think?"

"I don't know about that," I said, rubbing the back of my head. "I'll have to look over the design one more time before making any decisions...mind if I come over?"

"Wha? No, no, not at all," he laughed nervously.

"Minato-sama~" I heard in the background. "The bath is ready. Would you like me to wash your back?"

I blinked and looked at my phone. "Minato?" I asked. "Are you sure everything is okay? It sounds like you're busy."

"Nope! Everything is fine!" he said right away in a tone that reminded me of a scared chihuahua. "Come over whenever you want!"

"Okaaaay," I said. "I'll see you in an hour."

I hung up and shook my head as I walked back to the apartment. I walked inside and looked at the clock. It was about noon now, which meant I had just spent the last four hours in the gym.

I sighed and headed for the shower, pulling off my shirt and kicking off my shoes. My head was pounding slightly for some reason as I walked up the stairs, which distracted me from the sounds inside my bedroom. I opened the door and stopped dead in my tracks.

"Ah, Will-sama, you're back!" Kaho said, turning to face me.

"Hey, Will," Ichiya said with a smile. "How was your workout?"

I had walked in on the two of them as they were undressing. Kaho was only wearing her workout pants while Ichiya was in the process of unzipping an Atlas jumpsuit that Ilona had given her to train in, exposing her breasts to the world.

"Uhhhhhh," my brain refused to work as my eyes fixated on the bodies of my two Sekirei.

"Will-sama, are you okay?" Kaho asked, walking close to me. "Your face is really red…"

"Sorry!" I yelled as my brain finally restarted and I turned away. "I'll give you two some space!"

I hadn't even taken a single step when I felt Ichiya grab my hand and pull me back onto the bed. "What's wrong?" she purred in my ear. "You don't like our bodies?"

"Wha? No!" I said as Kaho approached me. "You're both beautiful!"

"Then why don't you like to look at us?" she asked in a childlike tone.

"Uh, because…" my mind raced to find a suitable answer. "Because….because...because it's indecent! Yeah, that's why."

Ichiya laughed as she rubbed herself against my back. "It's only indecent if we don't want you to look," she said.

"And we don't mind," Kaho said as she hugged me from the front, pressing her naked breasts against my bare chest.

_T-t-t-t-tits!_ I mentally stammered as Ichiya's hands found their way into my lap. "WAHOO! Ichiya, don't go there!"

"Why not?" she said, gently nibbling on my earlobe.

"Because I said so!" I yelped as Kaho started kissing my neck. "Ack! Kaho, that-"

"Will-sama," she said, burying her face in my shoulder and nuzzling. "You're so warm…"

I turned bright red as I realized where this was going. Realizing that I didn't have a lot of time left before we passed the point of no return, I quickly shook the two of them off me and sat straight up on the end of the bed.

"Will/-sama?" they asked. "What's wrong?"

"I can't do it," I admitted.

"So there is something wrong with us!" Ichiya growled, covering herself with her hands in disgust. "I knew it!"

"NO!" I shouted, turning on them. "Listen to me! There is nothing wrong with the two of you!"

I sighed and reigned myself in. "Look, I'm just not ready for something like that," I said. "I love you girls...I know it in my heart...but it's just too soon for us to do something like that…"

I looked both of them in the eyes. "I'm not saying I don't want to do that with you girls," I said. "All I'm asking for is a little more time to get used to this."

They were silent for a moment before they looked back at me.

"Can we still sleep with you?" Kaho asked.

"Sure," I smiled.

"And kisses?" she said.

"Of course," I said.

"What about cuddling?" Ichiya said, dropping her hands away from her chest with a smirk.

"...I guess we can do that," I said, not wanting her to be unhappy.

"Yes," she pumped her fist as Kaho tackled me with a hug.

"I love you, Will-sama!" she said, hugging me so tight I thought I heard one of my ribs crack.

"G-great," I wheezed as she let go of me. "Hey, I have to head out soon. Minato and I have to finish up our design for school."

"How long will you be gone?"she asked.

"Not sure," I said. "Chances are I won't be back until late…"

"Can we come?" Ichiya asked, sitting next to me.

"Sorry," I shook my head. "Explaining why I have _one_ unbelievably hot girlfriend would be tough enough...two would be impossible."

The two of them blushed as I got up and headed into the shower. A quick wash and some fresh clothes later, I was out the door and on my way to the boarding house where Minato was staying. On the way, we passed by the Botanical Gardens again. The jungle was still there...in fact it looked bigger than the last time I saw it.

"Shouldn't MBI start doing something about this place?" I asked Mitchell, who was driving.

"Yeah," he said, taking his eyes off the road to look at the towering trees. "I'm sure Minaka's got something nasty planned for this place."

I nodded and checked my phone for the rest of the drive. As soon as we were there, I hopped out and walked up to the doorway. As soon as I knocked, the door opened.

"Ah, Irons-san," the landlady said. "Welcome."

"Hello Asama-san," I said with a smile. "How are you doing?"

"Oh, I'm fine," she said as I walked in. "I must thank you for finding that listening device last time you were here."

"Oh yeah, did you ever find out who put it there?" I asked, taking off my shoes.

"Why yes I did," she said. "Another one of the tenants put it there a long time for a practical joke and forgot about it."

"Pretty serious prank, if you ask me," I muttered. "Is Minato in his room?"

"He is," she nodded. "Would you two like something to drink while you work?"

"Some water would be great," I smiled. "Thank you."

I walked up the stairs and into Minato's room.

"Hey, Mina...to?" I asked as I looked at the scene before me.

Minato was laying on the ground, spread eagle with a woman laying on top of him...a woman who was not his girlfriend, Musubi. She had short brown hair and pale skin, and was wearing a white kimono with a blue obi sash tied in a bow. She also had her chest pressed into his face.

"Uh, should I go?" I asked as Minato sat up.

"Ah," the woman said. "Please."

"Okay," I said. "Have fun, Minato."

"Wait!" he yelled, squirming out from under the woman and standing up. "Will-san, sorry you had to see that! It was an accident!"

"Yeah, sure," I grinned at him. "Anyway, who is this?"

"Oh, this is Akitsu," he said, pointing to the woman. "She's a new tenant here."

"Nice to meet you," I said as she stood up and faced me.

"Ah," she said, before pausing a moment. "You too."

"Akitsu-san, could you give us some privacy?" he asked. "Will-san and I have some work to do."

The woman stared at him for a moment before nodding and walking out of the room.

"She's not one for conversation, is she?" I asked.

"Not really," he admitted, rubbing the back of his head.

"Hey, what happened to Musubi?" I asked, laying my materials out on his desk.

"She's on an errand for the landlady," he said, pulling out the stack of papers from his drawer. "She should be back shortly."

After that, we sat down and got right to work. I was impressed by Minato's work. For not knowing much about machines, he had solved the problem with the injector pump on his own. Now the machine would be able to function as an IV drip as well as an injector. From there, we just kept going. Pretty soon, we had a finished design that was ready to be built.

"Well, that's enough," I said. "Anymore changes and we'll never get to building it."

"Yeah," Minato said, stretching his back out. "Wow, it got late."

He was right. According to the clock on the wall, was now five in the evening.

"Well, I should be getting back," I said, packing up.

"Uh, actually," he said, shooting me a nervous look. "A friend of mine from high school invited me to get a drink tonight. I was wondering if you wanted to come with us?"

I raised an eyebrow. "A drink?" I asked. "Minato, I'm seventeen...I can't drink in Japan. Hell, I can't drink legally in America yet."

I sighed. But maybe going out wasn't such a bad idea… It might help me relax after the events of the week.

"But I guess I can just have a coke," I shrugged. "I'll tag along with you guys if its okay with your friend."

"Great," Minato said, grabbing his jacket. "Yasha said he'll be here in a few."

I nodded and sent a quick text out to Gideon, explaining that I was heading out for another few hours. A few minutes later, Minato's friend, Yasaka, showed up in a battered old sedan. He seemed like a nice enough guy, although I noticed him eying Minato's girlfriend with a bit of blood dripping from his nose. Anyway, we left a little after that and headed out to the center of the city. Yasaka immediately dragged us to a karaoke nightclub where he seemed to know a few people. A few words with the door attendant and we were right inside. I gulped at what I saw. There were tables everywhere, each of them occupied primarily by women, but a few men were here and there. There was a small stage in the center of the club, where a group of people were standing and singing along to a karaoke machine. But that wasn't the part that scared me. It was the waiters that scared me. They were all guys wearing kind of revealing outfits who were blatantly flirting with all the women. Minato seemed to be just as surprised as I was.

"Yasaka, what's going on?" he yelped to his friend. "This is a host club, not a bar!"

"Relax, Minato," he said with a casual smile. "I've been working here to pay my bills lately, and I thought you might want a little extra money since your okaa-san cut your allowance."

"So you want us to flirt with complete strangers?" I asked.

"Basically," he admitted, not catching the death glare I was shooting him as a pretty girl came up to him. "Ah, Aimi-chan...long-time-no-see…"

"So _that's _your best friend?" I asked as Yasaka sat down with that girl at a table and started flirting with her.

"Yeah," he said, clearly embarrassed. "Will-san, I'm sorry about this"

"Don't worry," I said. "Want a drink?"

He nodded and we walked over to the bar and got a couple of cokes. Apparently Minato didn't like to drink either. We just hung out at the bar and watched Yasaka make a complete ass of himself flirting with women and singing at the karaoke machine. We chatted a little back and forth about random things, having a good laugh. To be honest, despite the awkward circumstances, I was having a pretty good time. And it was a plus that none of the hosts working the club came up to either of us...although I did see this one guy with silver hair at the other end of the room staring at Minato before walking towards another table of women.

"I'm gonna head to the bathroom," Minato said, putting his drink down.

"Okay," I said as he walked away. "I'll watch your glass for ya."

He said his thanks and vanished off towards the back of the club. I sat there for a few seconds, just calmly watching the crowd.

"So, are you having fun?" Yasaka asked, coming up to me with a cocky grin on his face.

"To be honest," I said, draining my glass. "No."

"Aw, you have to loosen up, Irons-san," he said, slapping me on the back. "How about I introduce you to someone? I know a few girls with a thing for Americans."

"Well this American is just about to leave," I said, tossing a few bills onto the counter. "I'm already in a...relationship, and I have no intention of cheating."

I none-to-gently shouldered him out of the way as I made my way to the exit. "Thank you for inviting me here," I said. "Please don't do it again."

I sent a quick text to Minato and told him I was leaving early before I called Gideon and had him pick me up. The drive back was uneventful as I just stared into my phone, discovering that it was close to eight o'clock. I arrived at the apartment fifteen minutes later, heading right inside to find that the TV was on.

"I'm home," I called.

"Will-sama, come here!" Kaho called.

I kicked off my shoes and walked inside, finding my two Sekirei sitting on the couch watching American news. On the screen was a familiar face.

"Do you know that guy, Will?" Ichiya asked.

"Yeah," I said. "That's my dad."

"We now go live to Arlington, Virginia," the reporter said, "where president and CEO of the Atlas Corporation, Jonathan Irons is about to give a briefing on his company's recent activity in the Middle East."

The screen changed again, showing my dad standing on a small press conference stage next to some officers from the company. He looked unusually happy for some reason.

"Thank you all for coming," he said. "As you all know, five years ago Atlas was contracted by the United States government to deploy in Iraq and aid the troops there in rooting out leadership of the terrorist organization, ISIS. Today, I am pleased to announce to the world...that we have succeeded in that endeavor! Yesterday at twenty-two hundred hours standard military time, acting on intelligence collected via HADES drones, Atlas forces stormed the capital city of Baghdad. Inside the city, we found the remaining members of their leadership group, the al-Baghdadi. These men are now in custody and are awaiting trial."

I was grinning as my dad said those words. The Middle East had always been a sore subject with him, and it had ruined more than one dinners when guests had brought it up. Now that it was over, not only would Atlas be getting a lot of publicity, but the company's stock value would skyrocket. MBI would be left in the dust by this! I was also happy since it had been my drone design that had gotten them the intel they had needed, and dad had just basically told the entire world that my drones had helped stop ISIS.

"Will-sama?" Kaho asked, jarring me from my thoughts. "Is everything alright?"

"Yes, Kaho," I said grabbing her and kissing her right on the lips. "Fuck, things are way better than 'alright'!"

"Uh...good?" Ichiya said as I kissed her too and ran over to the kitchen.

"Let's celebrate!" I whooped as I grabbed the phone and ordered some food from the mess hall. "This is a great day for Atlas!"

"Will-sama, you don't seem right," Kaho said, grabbing my shoulder.

"Kaho, you have to understand!" I exclaimed. "I was the one who built the HADES drone! I helped catch terrorists! And my dad just told the entire world that I helped! This is probably the biggest moment of my life so far...sans meeting you two."

They both blushed a bit as I hugged them. Oh, things seemed much better already! Things couldn't possibly get any better for me.

**STOPPING HERE FOR NOW. WELL WASN'T THIS A WILD RIDE? I SURE HOPE SO BECAUSE I'M BEAT! **

**BEFORE ANY OF YOU START ASKING ME: I DECIDED TO GIVE MINATO AKITSU BECAUSE I CAN'T MAKE HER WORK WITH WILL AND I WOULD RATHER DIE THAN GIVE HER TO MIKOGAMI. I HAVE MADE CHANGES TO MINATO'S FLOCK IN THE FUTURE, BUT YOU'LL JUST HAVE TO WAIT AND FIND OUT WHAT THEY ARE XD!**

**UPDATES AFTER THIS CHAPTER MAY COME LATE. I AM STARTING AN INTERNSHIP PROGRAM SOON, SO MY FREE TIME WILL BE GREATLY AFFECTED. BUT FEAR NOT...I WILL FIND A WAY TO CONTINUE UPDATING!**

**MAKE SURE YOU REVIEW!**

**MickDunD-Out!**


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